Bite-Sized Insights: Outdoor Walking and Activity Trails Are Proving Key to Attracting Families

For this week’s bite-sized insights question, we asked parents to tell us what kind of outdoor family experiences they are looking forward to taking part in. Take a quick read of this week’s bite-sized insights to find out what parents are saying about outdoor family activities.

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Recommended reading: [INFOGRAPHIC] Home and Garden Insights from Parents

We asked our Insights panel of parents to tell us what kinds of outdoor experiences they are looking for this year. Here’s how they answered:

Any other thoughts on outdoor experiences that your family enjoys? Comments from our panel members included:

“Looking forward to more options of things to do this year, after the lockdowns and the limitations of the past 2 years. We normally go to ‘Bluebells & Buskers’ in Kildare, which has been cancelled recently. Hopefully this will go ahead this year. Our kids are 4 and 5. They enjoy playgrounds, walks, cycles, splashing in puddles and they love pet farms.”

“Picnics after a long trail walk yet close to provided amenities…like heritage and walking trails which aren’t difficult instilling a love of nature is an education in itself.”

“We just enjoy going to the beach and playing in rock pools. We enjoy having picnics in parks and woodlands. There is always lots written about activities for older kids (e.g. water activities for kids who are older) and lots regarding fairy trails, gardens and indoor play centres to visit, etc. We have two young girls (3 and 5) and I find that there isn’t always so much info re things like some of the beaches and playgrounds and their facilities for mums with younger kids. It’s also nice to read more about things like some of the more ‘artsy’ things that there are to do in Ireland like theatre for kids, art studios to visit, museums that would be nice to go to with younger kids, etc.”

“We have young children so we are always looking for new outdoor activities to occupy them for a chunk of a weekend! We love hiking, outdoor picnics, anything that involves animals(!) and food / farmers markets. We would love to see more family friendly festivals – outdoor experiences that aren’t necessarily going to cost us much money. When it comes to Halloween and Christmas, a lot of the family activities are very pricey.”

“We visited an outdoor pool last summer which the kids loved and want to go back to it. Felt like we were on holidays as the weather was lovely. Would also love to do more kid friendly hikes and would love more suggestions on places to go.”

“A fun thing we do with the kids is geocaching they enjoy the treasure hunt and we usually discover new areas we never knew existed.”

Actionable Insights for Family-Friendly Hospitality Industry:

Parents are looking for family activities to enjoy outdoors but some told us they worry about the Irish weather! Is there anything you can do at your attraction to have covered outdoor spaces?
Cost is a consideration for parents, especially given recent inflation. It may adversely affect your business if you raise prices beyond what they were in previous years.
Parents told us food and drink options are important to them when choosing outdoor activities. What can you offer in terms of take-away options and what facilities are in place for those who bring their own, i.e. picnic benches, covered eating areas outdoors etc.?
Want to find out exactly what it is parents want are looking for when considering outdoor family activity options? We can help! Contact us to start your parents insights journey.