Interest in Educational Vacations Growing

By Parag Vaish, VP of Marketing

If you’re looking to attract more travelers to your vacation homes, consider offering and emphasizing educational opportunities. More and more families are showing interest in combining family fun with educational opportunities when planning their vacations; in fact, this article states that interest in educational vacations is up 7% from last year alone. Trip adviser also notes that last year, 32% of families surveyed said they planned to include educational activities in their vacation plans.

As a property owner, here’s what you can do: Consider playing up local historical attractions, such as popular museums and landmarks. Advertise your vacation homes as being within a reasonable distance of whatever historical features your area provides. Don’t forget about contemporary attractions like aquariums and state and national parks, which are also educational. If possible, offer guided tours as this article suggests.

Within your homes, provide ample books, maps, and brochures which educate travelers about the local area. If you’re really serious about amping up the educational impact of your homes, you can even do themed décor which supports the local history of the region. For example, travelers visiting “out West” vacation homes would likely be thrilled to stay in a Western themed vacation home with educational materials about the history of cowboys.

Providing educational opportunities for travelers to engage in during their stays at your vacation homes will create a unique experience for families and increase word-of-mouth promotion. Including details about your educational opportunities online and in your other advertisements will also help distinguish your vacation homes from the rest of the pack in slow economic times. “Learning vacations” are on the rise, so get in on the trend early. 

Comments

[pocono resorts steve]

I've read about this before. What other long term affects do you think there will be?

[Parag Vaish]

In general, I believe educational tourism will sustain. As families tend to work longer hours and as academics become more challenging earlier in a child's schooling, I believe parents will take opportunities during vacations to 'experience' history together.