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12 Months Of Family Holiday Trends

Anyone else feel as though May came so fast? Autumn is in the air, the Easter Bunny has come and gone, and families around South Africa are about to spend a lot of quality time together as schools break up for the end of yet another term. Yep, while it may seem like the Christmas holidays just happened, apparently that was a good couple of months ago now. 

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Published 5 June 2023

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Anyone else feel as though May came so fast? Autumn is in the air, the Easter Bunny has come and gone, and families around South Africa are about to spend a lot of quality time together as schools break up for the end of yet another term. Yep, while it may seem like the Christmas holidays just happened, apparently that was a good couple of months ago now. 

With the kids no longer bound to their classrooms, many families are choosing to take this quality time together on the road (or through the air) for a well-deserved holiday. But coordinating a family holiday on your own can be quite the challenge, especially when you’re trying to accommodate the interests of different generations.  

That’s where we come in. 

Over the past 12 months, our Flight Centre stores have made more family bookings than grains of sand left in your car after a long day at the beach, so it’s safe to say we know a thing or two about organising the perfect family getaway! Want to know what we’ve discovered about how our South African families are travelling? Read on to find out what our Flight Centre store booking data is telling us... 

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Which destinations have been hot on the family radar?

As anyone who’s ever travelled with children knows, there are some destinations more suited to family visitors than others. Based on our store booking data for the past 12 months, the 10 most popular destinations for family travellers are... 

  1. South Africa 
  2. Mauritius 
  3. Thailand 
  4. United Kingdom 
  5. Indonesia
  6. Tanzania 
  7. United States 
  8. United Arab Emirates
  9. Australia
  10. France

It’s not too surprising that many of our South African families have opted to keep their travel plans close to home over the last year. Almost 50% of the family bookings made for the 10 destinations above were attributed to destinations in South Africa. And where in South Africa are all of these families going? Many families flocked to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. 

“The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.”
Mandino, Og

Of the families who decided to book holidays outside of South Africa over the last 12 months, Mauritius, Thailand and the United Kingdom proved to be popular destinations. Mind-blowing museums, West End shows, Hamleys (the world’s oldest toy shop), Buckingham Palace – London is an endless cultural adventure for family travellers.  

Hot on the United Kingdom’s heels are Indonesia and Tanzania.

How far in advance are families booking their holidays? 

It can be hard to know how far in advance to book a holiday. Book too early and you may see prices drop (on that note, did you know that Flight Centre offers Price Drop Protection on your flights when you book online or when you add the Captain’s Package to your booking?) but book too late and you may miss out altogether. It’s a fine line to tread! 

On average, families planning domestic travel over the past 12 months booked their trips approximately 22 days in advance. Finding themselves at the mercy of school holiday timings, most families don’t have the luxury or flexibility of booking a spontaneous holiday whenever the mood strikes! Families planning trips to Mauritius typically booked much earlier, on average about two in advance. 

Families travelling to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and the United States typically booked about a month in advance and those visiting Australia and France slightly earlier at around 46 days in advance.  

Want to get ahead of the game for your next holiday? Subscribe to our mailing list so you’re the first to know when hot deals drop, plus get a regular dose of travel inspiration delivered straight to your inbox! 

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Our favourite kid-friendly attractions to inspire your next holiday.

All this talk of family travel got you inspired to pack up the suitcases and start planning your next adventure? Here’s a family-friendly attraction in each of the top 10 destinations to get you started! 

  1. Table Mountain, South Africa 
  2. Seven Coloured Earths, Mauritius 
  3. Green Elephant Sanctuary Park, Thailand
  4. Edinburgh Castle, United Kingdom 
  5. Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Indonesia
  6. Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve, Tanzania 
  7. Universal Studios, United States 
  8. Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, United Arab Emirates
  9. Australia Zoo, Australia 
  10. Disneyland, France 

Contact a travel expert today so start planning the ultimate family holiday!

Disclaimer: the information in this report is based on the family store booking data currently available to us and we’ve made every effort to ensure its accuracy. Data is based on booking date, not travel dates, for the period 1 June 2022 – 31 May 2023. 

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