From imagination to itinerary: Kids create vacation experiences: Travel Weekly

Children are taking the reins on trip planning these days, with tour operators and tourism boards offering itineraries designed by kids, for kids.

And as they lean into “kidfluence” travel, those destinations and operators are finding the resulting trips to be more imaginative, inspiring and playful.

Visit Anaheim has taken the trend one step further, enabling kids themselves to act as the travel advisor. 

The DMO last month launched Imaginagency, which the organization said is the first travel agency run by kids, with itineraries designed for their fellow youths. The organization brought the dreams of six children to life, using their imaginations to kick-start the process of planning Anaheim-themed itineraries. 

“Anaheim is such a kid-friendly destination to begin with,” said chief marketing officer Scott Oklin. “For us, we were really keen on driving deeper on that and putting kids in the driver’s seat in creating their own itineraries. … Kids are more imaginative. They’re more creative. They have bigger ideas on what they’re dreaming of that experience to be.”

The move to create this campaign was fueled by the DMO’s desire to be at the forefront of the growing multigenerational travel movement.

Visit Anaheim launched Imaginagency, a travel agency for children. Nigel shows off the itinerary he created. Photo Credit: Visit Anaheim

One itinerary that Oklin highlighted comes from Nigel, a “go-go-go kid that never stops,” the organization said in its description of his creation. The four-night itinerary features the Cambria Hotel Anaheim Resort Area waterpark and the theme parks at Knott’s Berry Farm, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park. Another, inspired by Tynka, is a one-night itinerary that includes a VIP Anaheim Ducks experience and fun at Top Golf. 

A Visit Anaheim survey conducted by Talker Research with a sample of 2,000 parents of school-age children found that 84% of parents draw inspiration from their child’s imagination when planning a vacation. And 86% of kids said they want to help build the itinerary, with 53% of respondents saying they want to plan the whole vacation themselves. 

This represents a trend of children “increasingly taking an active role in planning family trips,” said Anna Abelson, an adjunct instructor at New York University’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. 

NYU produces an annual family travel survey with the Family Travel Association. This year’s results will be released in September and “will take a deeper look at the growing trend of children … shaping family travel choices,” Abelson said. 

“This trend, often called ‘kidfluence,’ shows a shift toward more inclusive and creative travel planning,” she said. “Companies see that involving kids in decisions makes family vacations more meaningful, and that is becoming a key market trend.”

One such operator is Pelorus Travel, which specializes in custom luxury trip planning. The brand debuted its “Imagine This” campaign in March after seeing clients have a “real desire for children to be integrated more and more,” said co-founder Jimmy Carroll. 

The result? Vacations that invite travelers to experience the world through a child’s eyes. 

Though Pelorus designs bespoke trips for its clients, the brand shared sample itineraries to inspire travelers. The trips were influenced by extravagant ideas, like soaring to the stars in a rocket ship and having a snowball fight with a yeti. 

Though Pelorus can’t conjure a yeti, the sky is seemingly the limit for the itineraries the operator designs. For example, the brand recently operated a New Zealand itinerary where the client and their children explored the country, including its glaciers. There, the children, ages 9 to 13, learned how to snowshoe and ice climb and to use avalanche rescue techniques with receivers, also known as avalanche transceivers or avalanche beacons. They then used the devices to locate treasure that was buried in the glacier: pounamu, also known as New Zealand jade.

Children have an up-close encounter with meerkats on a Pelorus tour. Photo Credit: Pelorus

Though an estimated 60% of Pelorus clients travel with their families, Carroll noted an uptick in clients seeking family-based itineraries and an increase in mothers approaching the brand since launching the campaign.

“It’s really important to make sure we all connect again and we capture those really special moments — that’s when children are growing up,” Carroll said. “It doesn’t matter how wealthy any of our clients are. There is one thing they cannot do: They cannot buy more time.”

Experience Abu Dhabi surveyed over 7,000 parents and children across the U.K., U.S., India, China, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, revealing that “kids want to follow their passions,” it said. 
The survey also revealed that children are in search of connection, said chief marketing officer Emma Campbell. 

“Parents are so worried about connection with their kids and screen time and all those types of things, it was heartwarming to hear the kids say that connection is just so important for them,” she said.

Experience Abu Dhabi also created an itinerary designed by kids for kids that is filled with experiences for both children and adults, balancing rest and relaxation with adventure-themed jaunts. For instance, the first day of the itinerary is action-packed with indoor rock climbing and skydiving followed by a day of relaxing at the beach.

“I think anything that involves kids is kind of fun and playful,” Campbell said, “and I think it sort of unleashes the playfulness within us all, which is so important and sometimes forgotten.”