Tide turns for family holidays as young join parents on sands

Those who had spent every summer on windy rain-swept British beaches once couldn’t wait to cut the apron strings.

Usually their first holiday without their parents ended in disaster. Passports were lost, money ran out on day four and with no one offering hourly reminders about the need for regular suncream application, burning was inevitable.

However, despite the pitfalls of holidaying without the parents, it was a rite of passage. Not any more it seems.

According to latest research the family holiday is back in vogue although the reason for the renaissance appears to be down to finances.

The figures show as many as 39 per cent of parents with offspring over the age of 18 are taking their children on holiday this year and paying for the privilege. Of those, the poll by LV= travel insurance found two in three are not letting their children pay a penny towards the trip.

The results will add fuel to the fire that the recession is responsible for breeding the phenomena of the boomerang generation which sees young adults flying back to the nest to make the most of the free taxi and laundry service.

However, more than two in five of those prepared to fork out for their grown-up children said they were doing so as a treat, while 37 per cent said they wanted to keep the family together regardless of the cost.

About a quarter of parents said they were paying for, or subsiding, their adult child’s holiday because they knew their offspring could not afford a break.

The poll also showed that the average age of adults joining their parents on holiday was now 30, with 19 per cent being in their 40s.

About a third of parents with adult children also take more than one child away with them.

Despite paying little or nothing for their trips, adults joining their parents for breaks still like to have a say in the destination.

LV= travel insurance managing director Selwyn Fernandes said: “Young adults, and even some middle-aged ones, are trying to save money where they can, and holidaying with their parents is becoming a growing trend.”

The survey follows another piece of research by Mintel which published similar results concluding the number of under-25s longing for an independent foreign holiday has fallen dramatically in the last year or so.

“Holidays for the young aren’t what they used to be,” said senior travel analyst Tom Rees. “Once Britain’s youth couldn’t wait to escape their parents to see the big wide world, but now it seems the nation’s young adults would rather stay within safe reach of mum’s apron strings.

“Almost a quarter of young adults told us difficulty in finding a job is making it harder to go on holiday and one in 10 complained their plans have been curtailed with concerns over their student loans.

“Young travellers are becoming less negative towards the idea of family holidays. However, that may be because the recession-driven recruitment freezes have hit graduates particularly hard and created a real fear that a lost generation will be the legacy.

“The economic outlook is influencing their attitude to everything, including travel and when it comes to holidays the future doesn’t look too bright for those parents longing to return to a quiet break for two.”

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