Travel search engine Wego.com has highlighted the growing trend of Chinese adult children travelling with elderly family members, especially as many of these young professionals have either relocated to first-tier cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, or have moved to other countries for their careers.
James Huang, market development manager, Wego, North Asia said: “Young Chinese professionals are taking the lead in travel planning and bookings for their parents and extended family to maintain the limited time they spend together.”
Chinese New Year thus presents a favourable opportunity for family travel, as adding annual leave to the Spring Festival holiday will translate into one of the longest continuous break for many Chinese executives. Long weekends are also becoming a popular time for outbound family travel.
Huang has also noticed an emerging trend of young professionals flying out their family to where they are based or to other destinations to spend quality time together.
“Young professionals living away from home are willing to spend more money to ensure their ageing parents especially travel in comfort by booking full-service flights for them. They prefer family-friendly hotels close to public transport in modern cities such as Tokyo and London,” said Huang.
“For destinations outside of Asia, they’ll select hotels who cater to Chinese tastes with familiar meals such as congee or hotpot, as elderly family members are less likely to adapt to Western food,” he added.
Amid changing market trends, Huang also urged a redefinition of the Chinese family segment to beyond that of younger families with small children in oder to pave for new opportunities and creative offerings.
“Hotels can incorporate local menus and larger, more comfortable road transfers, and airlines might consider flexible flight packages designed for three to suit an older family unit that includes options for premium economy seats (for older parents) and economy for an adult offspring,” he suggested.
