Press Release: New family holiday service offers online solutions
for parents
23 June 2004
Stuck for ideas about where to take the family this summer? Help is
at hand from a new online travel service that aims to provide all the
answers. Designed by parents for parents, www.takethefamily.com is the
first service to offer advice, destinations and booking all in one place.
"We're hoping to make it easier for parents to become more adventurous
in planning trips," founder Andy Cook said. "Family holidays
don’t have to be just bucket and spade, although the best ones
still often are. Nowadays families can do pyramids and sphinxes, lions
and tigers, whales and dolphins and even bungee-jumping and white-water
rafting. Whatever their needs, we aim to become the first place every
parent should visit.”
Supported by travel and leisure expert lastminute.com and award-winning
family holiday specialists Real Holidays, the new site includes a wide
range of things to do, from adventure holidays in the Far East to family
musicals in the West End. It even recommends Swallows and Amazons for
the kids to read before their trip to the Lake District.
"We developed this service because we found as parents that there
was a real gap in the market for a comprehensive, online, family-friendly
holiday Website," said Mr Cook. "When you've been given seat
12c on an aircraft and your kids seats 16e and 17f, you know there has
to be a better way! That's what we're trying to create."
Mr Cook and his three co-founders believe the time is right for an
online holiday service for families. "The growth in Internet use,
and particularly the rapid expansion in broadband households, makes
online holiday booking the natural choice for the future," he said.
"Online travel sales grew by 61% in 2002 and 35% in 2003, so this
is definitely a growing trend. And Britain is leading the field, with
families increasingly turning to the Internet to research and book their
holidays.
“In addition to the usual booking services for flights, accommodation,
holidays and car hire, we are also offering advice on a wide range of
family-friendly destinations, what to bring, what to buy and even what
games to play en route. We hope that making all the choices available
on one technologically advanced and yet easy-to-use site will take most
of the fuss out of planning a family holiday or outing."
TaketheFamily.com offers a full range of planning and booking services
for family holidays, weekend breaks and things to do in the UK and around
the world. The site currently covers over 40 handpicked destinations
worldwide, with more coming online, and features special offers from
family-focused providers including Center Parcs and Hilton Hotels. There's
also a feedback section to allow users to pass on their own experiences
of family destinations and travel services.
Holidaymakers wanting a tailored package or the advice of a live travel
agent can contact the specialist family agency Real Holidays directly.
Philip Davies of Real Holidays says that his agents “know what
it’s like to choose between a dream holiday and keeping the children
happy and can suggest something that will meet both needs”.
Mr Cook added: “Family travel can be complex, confusing and sometimes
painful. Take the Family has been designed not by men in suits but by
real parents with real kids. And guess what? Suddenly, it’s all
a lot easier!"
There's no reason why holidays with children shouldn't be as satisfying
and successful as any other kind of break. There are all kinds of exciting
options out there, and we aim to make them as convenient, fun and accessible
as possible. If we can inspire people to branch out and try new things
with the whole family, then that would be a great measure of our success."
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