Clients travelling with children present a host of opportunities and obstacles for agents and several issues must be taken into account to ensure they have a hassle-free family holiday.

Agents need to be knowledgeable about the options for family accommodation, transport, in-flight care, travel insurance and kids activities and facilities.

Emirates Holidays destination development manager Davinder Kaur says each destination has something unique to offer children and notes that for many cultures, “where the family goes on holiday is often a decision made by the children”.

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Kaur says that beyond the essential task of booking a suitable family room, the most important consideration when creating a family itinerary is the range of activities available to children and for this reason it is vital to recommend the right destination to clients.

“Whereas honeymooners might look for a quiet location, families want to be somewhere that is a hive of activity, because it all revolves around finding something to entertain the children,” explains Kaur.

She says top Asian destinations for the UAE market include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Gold Coast in Australia, which is home to several theme parks, including Warner Brothers Movie World; Dreamworld; Sea World; and Wet ‘n’Wild.

In Europe, Germany and Paris are Kaur’s top picks, with Europa Park high on the list for families, and now that Emirates Airline offers direct services from Dubai to both Los Angeles and San Francisco, the US has opened up to GCC families, she says.

Kaur says the best kids activities are usually those provided by hotels such as kids clubs. She highlights the Mandarin Oriental in Chennai as an example of best practice.

“They take kids out to a real paddy plantation where they can play around in the mud and plant rice,” she says.
“It’s amazing; can you imagine running around in mud and sand and not getting told off? Later the hotel can even send you pictures of how tall the rice has grown.”

Kaur says these activities help kids learn about other cultures while they have fun.

“There is an opening of minds and it is very character building,” she explains.

One other obvious benefit is that these activities give parents time off to enjoy other services provided by the hotel or surrounding attractions, giving agents the chance to up-sell to their adult clients.