Travelling with older children, including multi-generational travel with grandparents, is a growing sector in tourism.
You may believe that once the kids are launched, that’s the end of the family vacation.
Many parents use the empty nest to take bucket list trips that previously would have been too pricey or complicated with younger ones. And then there are the issues of adult children who can’t find time away from their jobs or prefer to travel with friends or partners.
But a growing number of families with post-college-age children view vacationing together as a means to two important ends in this new chapter of their lives: building connections from extended quality time and creating an “experiential” legacy.
Travelling with older children, including multi-generational travel with grandparents, is a growing sector in tourism, according to recent Family Travel Association surveys produced in partnership with NYU’s Tisch Center of Hospitality and Edinburgh Napier University.
It’s a huge opportunity for the $1.3 trillion U.S. travel industry (as of 2024), and could offset 2025’s cooling down, especially from international visitors, due to tariffs and other White House policies and rhetoric. One FTA survey showed that 55% of families are booking multi-gen trips while another showed 84% of parents said they were likely or very likely to travel with older children (up to age 26 for this survey) in the next year compared to 88% with only younger children.
“We rarely talk about this travelling phenomenon, whereas it is actually super-common,” says Lynn Minnaert, Ph.D., dean of the School of Hospitality at Metropolitan State University of Denver and a co-author of the FTA survey. “It’s interesting that, in some ways, the industry hasn’t one hundred per cent adapted. It’s still quite difficult, for example, to book adjoining rooms or plane tickets as a group. The software is not adequately prepared to do that. In some ways, we make it quite difficult as an industry to get that fit booked.”
Enter the problem-solvers and trend-spotters. Luxury travel company Black Tomato offers a full menu of “Travel for the Grown-Up Families” tours. “We have seen a notable increase in families traveling and seeking experience-driven itineraries that cater to both parents and adult children,” says cofounder Tom Marchant, noting that “it’s more ‘adult’ children—from late teens to early twenties and beyond—who are in some ways driving the narrative of how itineraries are created.” Notably, the bank of mom and dad generally foots the bills. More than half (55%) of Black Tomato’s business caters to parents and adult children and multi-gens, which Marchant believes factors into their repeat and loyal customers as families grow and age.
Marchant, who just celebrated the UK-based company’s 20th anniversary, describes this shift as inevitable. “The people who are, quite literally, the future of travel, are already shaping it,” he says. “The adult children as an audience are craving authentic, hands-on travels that speak to their values and interests, including sustainability, wellness and cultural immersion.” And, like most things, no matter the age, it’s often inspired by pop culture and social media, particularly TikTok.
Take one of his recent client’s trip to Japan, whose adult daughter is a fan of Studio Ghibli, the beloved animation studio behind Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Or another’s whose son wanted to trek to environmentally-friendly properties he found on social media, including Forestis Dolomites and Six Senses Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps.
An earlier-in on the trend is Backroads, the California-based active travel company founded in 1979. “Backroads has been running family trips for more than 35 years, and as the category and interest in our family trips has grown, we noticed that families with older children were looking for different programming, longer and harder activities and even different food options than families with younger kids,” says Liz Einbinder, head of partnerships and public relations.
Prompted by customer interest, the global adventure company launched 20s & Beyond trips in 2019, and has since tripled that category to 80 options, including hiking in Joshua Tree National Park, a Banff-to-Lake Louise snow tour and biking in Vietnam and Cambodia.
“We hear from many families that they are looking to travel with other families with kids of similar age,” says Einbinder. “20s & Beyond trips are a great way for families to vacation all together before busy life events such as work, marriage and starting a family begin filling up schedules.”
Digging into the grown-up family travel trend was inspired by my adult son’s upcoming wedding. I wanted a little special mom-son time. We both have an incurable case of wanderlust and discovered a mutual love of snorkeling (and Blue-footed Boobies) when we visited the Galapagos Islands on a 12-day trip exactly six years ago. So I booked a weekend in Key Largo.
This time, we had two days. A highlight reel of our time there would feature establishing shots at the hotel beach and pool, quicker takes snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and kayaking through mangrove tunnels, and then back to unhurried moments of sunset cocktails and live local music. And plenty of rich conversations and golden silences. (Details below.)
To understand why people—including my son and I—are increasingly vacationing with their grown children, Dean Minnaert of Denver’s Metropolitan State University points to two overarching themes. “The first is that you have time to bond and set time apart from a daily routine,” she says. “Meeting at each other’s houses, you’re still in the flux of everyday life and don’t have the time to do activities together that you enjoy for an extended amount of time.”
The second is more profound. “People think about leaving legacies in a different way,” she says. “Rather than leaving a financial legacy after you pass, you might think, I am going to contribute to my family’s wellbeing and enjoy it while I’m still around. It’s an upfront legacy you give your children, which is quite a beautiful way of looking at this.”
Reefhouse Resort and Marina, Key Largo
Caroline Howard
KEY ATTRACTIONS & EXPERIENCES
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is the main event of any Key Largo stay. Opened in 1963, the park is fantastically diverse with marine life, coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps—not to mention a fully submerged nine-foot bronze statue known as the Christ of the Abyss. Take advantage of the many guided water tours, including snorkeling or scuba diving with the crews at Pirates Cove Watersports and a mangrove tunnel kayaking adventure with Florida Bay Outfitters.
WHERE TO STAY
Reefhouse Resort and Marina is a choice location in Key Largo—it sits on the beachfront of Key Largo Bay, just down Highway 1 from the state park. The 150+ rooms or suites (some with waterfront terraces) and 17-acre grounds with swaying palm trees, a pool/bar, spa and stylish restaurant have a quiet luxury and laid back vibe. Pirates Cove is conveniently based on the property.
EATS & DRINKS
Caribbean Club is the spot for relaxed sunset cocktails and live local musicians. This memorable dive bar was featured in the 1948 Bacall and Bogart classic.
The Buzzard’s Roost is an alternative to what we experienced elsewhere in Key Largo, where big portions outweigh good eating. This marina-side restaurant and bar offers casual meals with an emphasis on fresh fish.
Latin Café 2000 – If you’re hungry for authentic Cuban food—think Cubano sandwiches, ropa vieja and platanos maduros—the Le Juene location is a few minutes drive from the Miami airport before you head to the Keys.
(DISCLOSURE: All recommendations are based on this author’s personal experiences.)
This article was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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