by Kiran Manral
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- It is no longer unusual among urban affluent families to take parent-and-child-only vacations, minus the second spouse. Mothers are taking their kids out on solo vacations — from the domestic to the most exotic foreign locales — and without waiting for their spouses to rearrange their busy work schedules.
- The growing number of single working moms has opened up a market for high-end holidays among well-heeled women (Times of India, Crest, 20 November 2010).
- Divorced dads, too, make the most of vacation time, by bonding with their kids on solo father-and-child vacations.
- Married couples with high-pressure careers also have trouble synchronising their leave with that of everyone else’s in the family, and now have no compunctions on taking that vacation without the spouse.
- Many tour operators are also promoting single parent vacation offers which assure safety, a primary concern with women travellers.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Single parent holidaying is now being seen as an opportunity for stressed-out urban parents to spend quality time with their children. The demands of job and city living affords them little time together, which they can get only when they get away for a few days.
- For most single mothers taking a vacation with their kids, five-star vacations are the first option considering the safety factor.
RESOURCES
