A new survey by loveholidays.com has revealed children’s favourite holiday destinations – direct from kids themselves – to give some inspiration to parents this summer. The survey, commissioned by travel specialists loveholidays.com, asked kids under 14 for their favourite holiday hotspots, as well as what they want from their time away.

The answers may not be that shocking to most, showing that children haven't really changed across different generations. In first place was France, followed closely by the US – homes of Disneyland and Walt Disney World – with beach holiday hotspot Spain coming in third.

When children were asked for their favourite thing about going on holiday, theme parks and water parks were top of the list, with 29% of kids' votes. Sunshine was in third place, with 13% and, in a distinctly sweet turn of events, spending time with the family came in second with 25%.

The full ranking of children's favourite holiday destinations is:

  1. France
  2. US
  3. Spain
  4. Italy
  5. England
  6. Australia
  7. Greece
  8. Canada
  9. India
  10. Turkey

 

Matthew Lawson E-commerce Director at loveholidays.com, said: "We are proud to see England coming fifth in the list of top holiday destinations among children. However, the winning choices just show that the kids of this generation are still in love with Disney and are still the best at creating a magical holiday. Some things never change.

"Parents can learn a lot from listening to their kids when planning a holiday – making a dream come true is sure to create a memorable holiday. For many children, just spending time with their family seems to be enough, although spending time with their family on a rollercoaster is likely to win every time!"

Although the US has more opportunities for both theme parks and sunshine, France's first place position would appear to be due to its close proximity: the ease of travelling there from the UK makes it an ideal first holiday abroad. When asked for their dream location rather than their favourite, the pricier and further-away US came out in front.

England's fifth place position on the ranking is sure to be a surprise to many, although given that 22% of adults in the survey said they thought a child should be over five years old before their first holiday abroad, it is likely down to holidays at home being the only experience for some children. Indeed, 20% of parents said they rarely, or never, took their child abroad, with 14% saying their child had never left the UK.

Daily Echo: