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Children's influence is becoming widely accepted across a range of family purchasing decisions. This paper considers the role and influence of children in family holiday decision making — an area which has been relatively under‐researched compared to other aspects of consumer behaviour. The research reveals that for parents holidays are all about compromise and risk, and that children are a key part of the decision making unit. 75% of parents show their children holiday brochures and ask what they think, and children proactively offer ideas and suggestions about the choice of holiday. The nature of their involvement will depend on their age more than any other factor.

Holidays are often conceptualized as an opportunity for individuals to escape everyday life responsibilities, roles and relations. However, families bring with them domestic, everyday life responsibilities, bonds and relationships while holidaying. So far, research on family holidays has emphasized the nuclear family, largely assuming that holidays include a husband-wife-child(ren) constellation. However, family holidays come in many different forms, and this paper aims to focus on the under-researched issue of grandparents and grandchildren vacationing together.

Drawing on 81 qualitative in situ interviews with grandparents, who vacation together with their grandchildren at Danish caravan sites, this paper explores how grandparents and grandchildren “do” family during joint holidays. Although attempts were made to give voice to children, the paper predominantly uses data from interviews with grandparents.

Although grandparent–grandchildren holidays resemble nuclear family holidays in a number of ways, significant differences are also identified. Key differences are that these holidays enable grandparents and grandchildren to interact both more intensively and in ways they cannot do (as easily) at home; are a means for grandparents to help and support their children; allow for grandparents and grandchildren to be both together and apart; and are critical to how contemporary families enact and “do” family across generations.

The paper deepens knowledge on the under-explored topic of extended family consumption in tourism and points to grandparent–grandchild holidays as an important element of how grandparents “do” family.

This paper aims to explore mixed emotions experienced by parents and children on holiday, how they are dealt with and how they influence the way “family” is “staged” and “done”.

This paper draws on 24 qualitative interviews with Danish parents and a questionnaire study reporting answers from 66 Danish children (11-15-year-old).

Problems external and internal to the family are identified and the latter are associated with more unease particularly among parents. This paper shows that parents invest significant narrative efforts in transcending gaps between ideals and practices. Also children are aware of the gaps between ideals and practices; they seem more matter-of-fact, however, regarding critical aspects of holidays.

The informants of the study solely represent two-parent hetero-sexual families of Danish origin, and so inclusion of a wider range of families would have added interesting perspectives. Furthermore, children’s perspectives on critical holiday incidents need further research.

Creators of family holiday products and marketing should present a more nuanced imagery taking a more diverse approach to what “family” on holiday looks like. They could take up the challenge of depicting a broader range of family situations, also showing less harmonious moments, using humour, and showing opportunities for some “alone time” for both parents and children should relational overload happen. Also occasional “wifi-free” moments seem to be much appreciated by all family members, and development of offline family experiences would seem to strike a chord.

The contemporary paradigm of intensive parenting along with strong ideals for family holidays make it essential for parents to narratively deal with and legitimize and transform less happy moments. To take pressure off contemporary families, it is important to bring to the fore the less glossy aspects of family holidays.

The originality of this paper is to illustrate the strong efforts applied by families to keep up a certain front to be the family that “ought to be” by nurturing and narrating positive emotions in relation to family holidays. The inclusion of children’s voices gives insights into children’s annoyance with parents’ rowing, relational overload and parents’ occasional lack of attention to children, for example through parental use of mobile phones during holiday togetherness.

Where tourism research related to families holidaying with young children in coastal mass tourism destination is scant, this paper aims to explore accommodation constraints and needs of European parents who holiday with young children.

Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of young children who have just completed their family vacation in the island of Sardinia, Italy by positioning the interviewer at the boarding area of the Olbia Costa Smeralda airport.

The analysis returned five key themes: location of accommodation, quality of interactions, child-friendly amenities, safety and family-oriented programmes.

Within these five themes, seven new attributes were identified and contribute to the current literature on accommodation preferences of parents travelling with young children. The findings also suggest that this is a distinct segment within family tourism and should not be treated homogeneously with families with older or adult children. Finally, the data highlight the distinctions between Asian and Western parents in terms of their accommodation needs.

The aim of the article is to examine children's role in family purchase decision making with a particular focus on how much impact children are perceived to have and in what ways children impact family decision making concerning holidays.

Information was gathered from 26 in‐depth interviews with parents and children, telephone interviews with 800 Danish and 1,200 Germans, and questionnaires from 200 Danish and 200 German children.

Results show that parents perceive children to have moderate impact on decision making. Children, on the contrary, think they have quite a high level of impact. Parents perceive themselves to have the decisive vote, but in this “decisive vote” parents take children's manifestations and prior experiences with the children into account. Children do have significant impact in various ways through a broad array of techniques, directly and indirectly, consciously and unconsciously. Children vocalise their wishes, and parents are often attentive and co‐operative.

Other cultural settings than northern European would have been interesting to add to the analysis.

The significant influence of children not just in the buying situation, but also as a strong indirect factor is of interest when considering marketing actions.

The contribution of the article is insight into the discussions going on in families with viewpoints from both parents and children by the use of both qualitative and quantitative data. No previous works have integrated data of parents and children combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

This study aims to identify typologies of women who take holiday decisions within the couple, characterizing their profile through their lifestyles and some socio‐demographic variables.

The information was obtained through a survey addressed to Spanish women who were married or lived with their partner. Data were used to perform two types of analyses: scales validation and cluster analysis.

Three different groups have been found depending on the importance the women give to pre‐ and during‐holiday decisions. These groups present specific socio‐demographic characteristics, interests and opinions. However, findings reveal the need for further research into women's lifestyles as an explanatory variable.

This information will contribute not only to the academic knowledge, but will also help tourist managers to create competitive offers. It will also allow managers to implement more efficient promotional campaigns with the aim of attracting female tourists.

A classification of women, based on their holiday decisions, their lifestyles (activities, interest and opinions, AIO scale) and on some socio‐demographic variables (age, time living with the partner, children, occupation, level of studies, personal and family income, etc.), is provided in order to characterise them.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of parent–adolescent conflict in step versus biological families on family communication patterns (FCPs) and the conflict resolution strategy adopted by adolescents during family destinations or holiday planning (where to visit?).

The literature on family conflict (i.e. parent–adolescent conflict) and the different types of families (step vs nuclear) supported the proposed framework. The survey was conducted in the Indian subcontinent with a sample size of 437 adolescents. SPSS 22.0 was used for factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) and structural equation modelling was used through AMOS 26.0 for data analysis.

Significant relationship was observed between the types of families (step and biological), FCP and the resolution strategy chosen by Indian adolescents. Adopting a resolution strategy by adolescents in both families depends on the type of FCP in the family. Adolescents in stepfamilies have socio-oriented FCP and use “positive problem-solving” and “conflict withdrawal” as a resolution strategy. In contrast, adolescents in biological families have concept-oriented families and use “conflict enhancement” as a resolution strategy. It has also been found that adolescents who fall into high-stress categories used conflict enhancement strategies. In contrast, those who fall under low-stress categories used positive problem-solving and withdrawal strategies.

This study will add a new chapter to adolescents’ decision-making literature in line with the previous research. It has practical implications for tourism marketers, academicians/researchers and policymakers. Marketers can segment adolescents into step versus biological families, and the choice of resolution strategies may introduce efficient and competent marketing strategies and promotional campaigns.

This study favours that family type is a robust construct to predict adolescents’ choice of resolution strategy. So, it is one of the most influential variables in adolescents’ resolution strategy adoption.

Families represent a large and growing market for the tourism industry. Family tourism is driven by the increasing importance placed on promoting family togetherness, keeping family bonds alive and creating family memories. Predictions for the future of family travel are shaped by changes in demography and social structures. With global mobility families are increasingly geographically dispersed and new family markets are emerging. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the trends that shape the understanding of families and family tourism.

This paper examines ten trends that the authors as experts in the field identify of importance and significance for the future of family tourism.

What emerges is that the future of family tourism lies in capturing the increasing heterogeneity, fluidity and mobility of the family market.

The paper contributes to the understanding about the changes taking place in family tourism and what it means to the tourism industry in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to note the growing significance of different family types in the west and explore the relationship between the complexity of family relationships typified in single parent, blended and intact families and the involvement of children in purchase decisions.

The quantitative research is a development based on earlier qualitative research on the three family types and large‐scale piloting of the questionnaire. A random sample of mothers with children aged 10‐16 were contacted from the TNS Postal Access Panel. Questionnaires were only used where there were responses from both the mother and child. A total of 524 fully completed questionnaires were used for the analysis.

The analysis supports the idea that where familial relationships are simpler such as in single parent homes (fewer relationships) then the involvement of the child is greater and in more complex relationships such as in blended homes (where there are step‐parents and step children present) a child's involvement may be less marked. Exceptions to the “rule” are discussed as are the theoretical and practical implications.

Whilst social trends indicate that the composition of the family will continue to change, little research has been conducted on the impact of changing family structures on consumption behaviour.