When it comes to taking family vacations, Americans are on the wrong track. Sadly, over half of parents with kids under 18 are not taking all of their paid time off (PTO), according to a 2019 survey by the Family Travel Association and New York University. Worse yet, a full 17 percent of respondents – nearly one in five – said they took less than half of their earned PTO. That’s like leaving money on the table or throwing a paycheck in the garbage.
The survey also revealed that fewer parents are planning trips with their children, a trend that has continued for the past three years. Due to these disturbing findings, the Family Travel Association has launched a campaign called #TakeFamilyTime, whose goal is to encourage parents to take all of their paid time off and create unique and memorable family experiences away from home.
Photo: Global Family Travels Founder and her family
Impactful Reasons to Invest in Family Time and Travel together
An investment in family travel can be as important to your child’s development as spending money on tutors or test prep courses. It encourages learning outside of their day-to-day routines. Meaningful, community-based travel can create incredible family memories, expose children to new cultures and places, and spark a new generation of global citizens who feel better connected to their families and the world around them.
Global Family Travels makes it easy for families to embrace the world. With a mission to learn, serve and immerse, our Seattle-based company creates family-friendly service trips that inspire global citizens of all ages to discover a different part of the world. In partnership with community-based tour operators and local non-profits, Global Family Travels offers family tours that include a unique mix of cultural and educational activities, homestay accommodations, and the chance to deep dive into local service projects that truly make a difference in the lives of local people.
Photo credit: Awamaki/Peru
Community-based Travel Experiences that Support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Our vision of family travel is much more than staying in a hotel and sightseeing from a bus. The immersive experiences we offer, often in partnership with non-profit organizations, can empower us to do our part in embracing the unprecedented challenges facing our interconnected global community. As they grow up, our children will be future leaders in an extremely connected world. Community-based travel gets us all to open our hearts and minds to walks of life vastly different than our own. As we at Global Family Travels have seen over and over, this is where transformation happens. Our trips allow children to contribute a piece of themselves to the world outside of their own, expand their perspectives and collaborate with others from diverse backgrounds.
Photo Credit: Global Family Travels
Many of our trips focus on some key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), from quality education (goal #4), access to clean water and sanitation (goal #6) to gender equality (goal#5), life below water (goal #14), the preservation of local cultures, and economic growth and decent work (goal #8).
Savings on 5 Spring Trips to Help Care for our Planet
This Spring, Global Family Travels is offering discounts on five Learn, Serve & Immerse adventures that care for our planet. These trips were designed around the UNSDGs with the intention of addressing key climate change issues, endangered wildlife, and education equality. We take travelers to the beautiful island of Bali, grasslands of Africa, Andean peaks of Peru, the colorful island of Cuba, rainforests of Costa Rica, and beyond.
Save $150 per adult! Book by March 1, 2020 with the code MEANINGFUL2020.
Photo Credit: Global Family Travels' Galapagos partner
Want to make a difference but don’t know where to start? Global Family Travels does the hard planning so that you’re able to take the road less traveled. We research sustainable, volunteer-based projects where families work alongside communities and local non-profit organizations to create a positive impact. We have seen how deeply compassion flows from children, who have an innate ability to both teach and learn. Many families forge a deep connection to the communities we’ve visited and come away with lifelong friends!
Make a Pledge to #TakeFamilyTime
We encourage you to take the #TakeFamilyTime pledge at the Family Travel Association (FTA) website, where you can find experts offering free help in planning family trips, inlcuding Global Family Travels! The organization works with expert family travel advisors, bloggers, social media influencers and others to make your life easier. On the FTA Facebook page, you can hear these experts speak about a variety of topics on family travel, including planning, affordability and the positive impact of travel on children and families. Planning a bucket-list family trip can be easier than you might think!
Photo Credit: Global Family Travels