Equal Opportunities for Families? An investigation into single-parent families and their opportunities to participate in holidays.

Equal Opportunities for Families? An investigation into single-parent families and their opportunities to participate in holidays.

What does it mean to be a family? In tourism terms it is usually seen as the 2-parent, 2-child 'traditional' family. You often see family-saver tickets for many attractions that are based on 2-adults, 2-children and also holiday operators who offer free child's places based also based on this calculation. Many single-parent families face the problem of exclusion in tourism activities due to a range of reasons; mostly related to the financial problems of being a lone parent. Perhaps personal connections can be made to your experience if you have grown up in a single-parent family? Or perhaps you are a single parent yourself and can relate to everything mentioned in this paper? Maybe you have such a tight-knit family bond that you are interested anyway to see what a different life single-parent families may have?

Single-parent families are becoming increasingly common for a number of reasons. It is not just the high divorce rates; statistics also show that pregnancies outside of wed-lock are one of the main reasons why parents, especially mothers, are now on their own (Morgan, 1999). Richards and Schmiege (1993) believe that the financial struggles that can face a single-parent family can have many negative impacts on family lives; both for the adult and children. For example, it is thought that single-parent children may be more likely to have less educational and economic achievements (Ackock and Kiecolt, 1989). It was also suggested that lone parents can feel very isolated and lonely because their routine is completely resolved around the household and children, therefore leaving very little time for a social life.

Ammuson and Larson (1991) suggests that the children of single-parents are much more likely to be required to help out in the house with general household chores and therefore hold more responsibility. The fact that these children have a sense of responsibility for the house may mean that other chores such as homework are pushed aside. These are one of the many other factors mentioned above that may lead to a realisation that single-parent families deserve a holiday just as much as anybody else.

This paper explores the many difficulties and solutions for single parents when they would like to go on holiday with their children. Primary research was conducted in order to get a clear insight into personal views of single parents who have been in the situation where holidays are unaffordable and hard to find. Single-parents were found via Facebook by locating groups especially for Single parents. A message was left explaining about my research, and a few positive replies were received the following day. A message was also put out through friends on Facebook which also received a couple of responses. The majority of the people questioned agreed that they are very much excluded from 'family' deals, either because free child places are not included if there is only one adult, or an extra supplement needs to be paid for under-occupancy. This is more the case for the major tour operators than smaller tour operators that are available and specifically designed for single parents.

Respondents to the brief questionnaire explained that minimal offers were available from major tour operators. They were made very hard to find and mostly shown in the brochures and were not available online. It was also mentioned that only select destinations were chosen to offer any deals for single-parents and that these accommodation at these destination were generally a long walk to any amenities. However, there are websites and organisations that specialise in single-parent families and holidays options. Most of the websites offer group holidays so that single parents can meet other single-parents and children can make friends.

A couple of good places that did offer what was considered to be reasonable options for single-parents included a B&B in Blackpool called Glenhaven, which offered different prices depending on the number of children. Another company mentioned was a charity-based country house in Stockport, Manchester, which one of the single-parents questioned explained was "the only cheap thing found for single-parents". Other individuals also explained that camping and holiday parks that offered set prices for caravans, pitches, chalets etc were a better option for single-parents as you are not paying per person rates.

H.E.L.P. (Holiday Endeavours for Lone Parents) Holidays (2011) is a registered charity offering group holidays to all lone parents, including those who other halves are in prison or the armed forces. This organisation generally only deals with camping and holiday parks such as Pontin's and Haven, but discounts are offered especially for members. Other organisations include Single with Kids, Mango Holidays and Small Families. These offer a more vast choice of holidays including those in the UK, popular destinations abroad and special activity holidays such as skiing.

Gingerbread (2010) is a registered charity providing advice and support for single-parent families on a range of different topics, from financial and benefits advice and employment, to relationships and what to do in the school holidays. Gingerbread offers a place for single-parent members to ask questions to one another and share their experiences. There is a single-parent family community accessible to members of Gingerbread, where thoughts and views can be shared on a number of things. One lone father shared his experience of taking his daughter on holiday and the highs and lows he was faced with.

Due to the ever-changing nature of tourism patterns it is becoming clear that there are now many options for all holidaymakers to book their holiday via many different forms other than tour operators. Access to tourism has been a pressing issue in recent years, with a particular focus on the disabled. It is important for more tourism companies to initiate tourist needs of all abilities. By finding solutions to these needs and presenting relevant and attractive tourism products, these both enables the company to get ahead of the competition and also provide a better and equal service to its customers. It is important for tour operators, especially those such as First Choice who claim to be a specialist in family holidays, to consider what options could be made available to all family types and situations.

Key References

Asmussen, L. And Larson, R. (1991), 'The Quality of Family Time Among Young Adolescents in Single-parent and Married-parent Families', Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 1021-1030.

Gingerbread (2010), 'Single parents, equal families', [Online], Available: http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/, Accessed: May 2011

Single with Kids (2011), 'Single Parent Holidays from the UK's Largest Provided for Single Parent Families', [Online], Available: http://www.singlewithkids.co.uk/, Accessed: May 2011.

Morgan, P. (1999), 'Farewell to the Family? Public Policy and Family Breakdown in Britain and the USA', Second Edition, The IEA Health and Welfare Unit: London.
Richards, L. And Schmiege, C. (1993), 'Problems and Strengths for Single-parent Families: Implications for Practise and Policy', Family Relations: International Journal of Applied Family Studies, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 277-285.

This is a very interesting paper that addresses a very relevant issue not only in the tourism industry, but in society in general. As the author points out, single parent families are becoming ever more common in modern society, largely due to high divorce rates, having children out of wedlock and the ever increasing stress put on families during these uncertain times. Financial pressure on families is greater than ever before, with single parent families likely to suffer most in these tough economic times and therefore more likely to miss out on their annual family holiday as a result. This is something that I can very much relate with, coming from a single parent family myself; this is an issue that I can easily identify with.

A holiday, whilst it might seem a daunting prospect for single parents (having spoken to my mum she can confirm this is the case), they can be an extremely beneficial experience. As the author suggests, single parents can feel isolated and lonely, with very little time to socialise, however a holiday is the perfect opportunity to do this. Hazel (2005) suggests further benefits of family holidays including, relief & renewal; mental health benefits; social interaction; broadening experiences; developing independence; and strengthening family relationships. Such benefits are likely to be of greater importance to these single parent families as opposed to the 'traditional' 2.4 children family, because it is likely that lone parents are more vulnerable to emotional issues such as stress and depression. Inglis (2000) supports this argument stating that holidays are important to our emotional life, happiness and fulfilment. Highlighting just how important it is for families of this kind to experience the benefits that a holiday can bring.

As the paper highlights, there are many charities for those who truly cannot afford a holiday, however for most single parent families, a holiday of some kind is usually achievable. Although this might be a week in Skegness as opposed to two weeks all inclusive in Spain, it is a holiday none the less and the benefits of that 'holiday' remain the same.

As the primary research suggests, families felt excluded from this form of tourism mainly due to financial reasons. Offers and deals such as, free child places and family supersaver tickets are very much targeted at the traditional family of two parents and two children, something which not only the tourism industry, but society as whole has done for many years i.e. holiday brochures featuring the 'perfect' family on the cover. This is a major oversight of the tourism industry when you consider that there was a 9.5% increase in lone-parent families within the UK, up from 2.6m to almost 2.9m during 2010 (Doward, 2011) and the stereotypical family image of mother, father and two children is fast becoming a myth (Doward, 2011).

However, it is argued that the organisations highlighted in this paper, specialising in single-parent family holidays, actually serve to isolate these families even more. Surely these families want to be treated the same as anyone else and have the same needs and expectations of their holiday as the traditional family would i.e. kids clubs, kids pool, safe beach, family friendly restaurant etc. Therefore, I would suggest that these types of organisations are not what the majority of single parent families are looking for, but rather the tourism industry in general to cater to their specific financial needs by offering deals and packages to suit them. Speaking with my mum about her experience taking my sister and I on holiday by herself, she confirmed this theory, stating that whilst financial barriers slightly restricted our choice of holiday, her needs and expectations remained relatively unchanged.

It is important to point out that in recent years the tourism industry has enabled greater access for people of all backgrounds, including single parent families. With the demise of the traditional package holiday in favour of tailor made packages, it is argued that access to family holidays is more accessible than ever before.


Doward, J. (2011) Cencus 2011: The Typical Family Is Not What It Used To Be. The Observer. [Online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/27/census-family-housing-ageing-population [Accessed: 12th May 2011].

Hazel, N. (2005). Holidays for children and families in need: An exploration of the research and policy context for social tourism in the UK. Children & Society, 19, (3), pp. 225-236.

Inglis, F. (2000) The Delicious History of The Holiday. Routeledge: London.