Family Holidays. A Qualitative Analysis of Family Holiday Experiences

Abstract Family holidays are seen as breaks away from busy everyday lives. They are supposed to be a relief from stress and chores, giving time for recovery and rest in the pleasant companionship of the family, but it sometimes may turn out to be a challenge to combine needs and desires of the different members of the family: parents and children, mothers and fathers, young children and older children. Family holidays are not always all harmony and may generate stress and conflicts at times. But families also experience good moments. Some family holidays – or at least some situations in family holidays – are perceived as successful and just the way they were supposed to be. But what are these "good experiences" and "good moments" like? This article is about the special context of family holidays and the successful moments in the family holiday from the perspective of parents and children, based on an empirical analysis of 26 extensive interviews with German and Danish families and a literature review on family holidays. The good moments are perceived to be moments where all family members are content and happy, with no nagging or sulking, and in situations where the children are absorbed by activities, not necessarily with their parents. Keywords: Experiencesfamily holidaysideals for holidaysqualitative methods Acknowledgements This study has been funded by the Danish Tourism Board and is presented in the report "Børnefamilieferie" written by Malene Gram and Anette Therkelsen, Tourism Research Unit, Aalborg University, in co‐operation with Ann Hartl, Centre for Regional and Tourism Research. Thanks to assistant professor Peter Kvistgaard, Professor Ulf Hedetoft, both Aalborg University, the anonymous reviewers and the journal editors for helpful and constructive input for the article.