Survey reveals mileage of jet-set generation

ONE-in-four Irish children have been to America by their 16th birthday as overseas travel for this generation soars, new research has found.

According to a survey from Hotels.com and parenting website Rollercoaster.ie, we have become a nation of childhood jet-setters, with overseas travel doubling in just one generation.

Under-16s have travelled twice as far as their parents — a 100% increase in travel in one generation, and less than 1% of under-16s today have never left Ireland, the survey found.

Almost every child in Ireland (98%) has made a trip to a European destination by the time they reach 16, while one-in-20 (5%) have been to destinations in Asia and Australia.

The main factor behind the surge is parents’ desire for their children to experience a range of countries and cultures early.

Almost nine out of 10 parents (86%) who responded to the Hotels.com survey said that experiencing different countries and cultures was important for their child’s education. Learning another language was cited as a key reason for taking children overseas by over half of the parents surveyed (51%).

“This survey shows that Irish parents are very keen for their child to experience travel and open their minds to new cultures and destinations,” said Alison Couper of Hotels.com.

Meanwhile, according to school travel tour specialists NST, Irish schools and students are bucking the trend and continuing to travel abroad in spite of the recession.

While overall Irish travel abroad is down 10% this year, school tours remain strong, with 89% of secondary schools planning to take students out of the country. All of the schools surveyed said that, while school tours are going ahead, they were feeling the impact of the current economic climate.