Family Tourism ─ Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Schanzel (tourism studies, Auckland U. of Technology, New Zealand) et al. compile 12 essays offering multidisciplinary perspectives on family tourism, an often neglected topic in tourism research. Tourism and other scholars from the UK and Australia consider the social, demographic, and historical trends affecting families in tourism, including the connection between families on vacation and their domestic behaviors, the influence of changes in ideologies and parental roles, and social and economic influences on its history and future in the UK. They then discuss tourism experiences of families from the perspectives of whole-family methodology, including the voices of fathers, children, and the whole family group; the role of VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel; the value of social tourism and holidays for disadvantaged families; the stress of a family vacation; the potential for gay and lesbian family tourism; and the future of the field, including marketing to young tourists and the future of the family life cycle. Distributed in the US by UTP Distribution. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Heike Schanzel is a lecturer in Tourism Studies at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand. Her doctoral thesis on family holiday experiences won an award and resulted in several academic journal publications.
Ian Yeoman is Associate Professor of Tou