Children don’t hold the credit card—but they strongly direct where it gets used.
Research on family travel and migration shows that:
- Children’s preferences and reactions heavily influence destination choice.
- Parents will pay more and travel further for places that feel genuinely child‑friendly.
- One bad emotional experience for a child (boredom, overstimulation, exclusion) can quietly erase a family’s loyalty to a place.
A city, hotel, or event is never just “kid‑friendly.” It is either nervous‑system‑friendly or it isn’t—and children tell us first.
Families look for:
- Safety and walkability,
- Sensory‑aware environments,
- Playful micro‑moments (not just Playgrounds),
- And staff who acknowledge children as guests, not obstacles.
Designing for kids is not a niche marketing move. It is a predictor of how long families stay, how often they return, and what stories they tell afterward.
