Vacation Travelers Include More Kids

Introduction | Task | Process | Guidance | Conclusion | Questions

Introduction
USA Today, November 17, 1999
     Taking the kids with you is increasingly popular among American, according to a travel report that predicts an expanding era of kid—friendly attractions and services.
     Commissioned by Better Homes & Gardens, the April survey was based on interviews with 1,500 adults conducted by the Travel Industry Association of America. It found that 87 percent of adults love to travel with their children, and that kids went along on 72 percent of all vacation trips in 1998.
     In all, vacation trips with children were up 5 percent over the year before. Travel parties with children included trips with grandparents and friends, and 20 percent of the trips spanned three family generations.
     "The number of family vacations that include children have increased by 55 percent since 1992, and the family travel market is booming," said Peter Mason, who is director of the travel marketing group of Meredith Corp., which includes Better Homes & Gardens.
     "The next millennium is going to see an expanding era of kid-friendly attractions, services and destinations to cater to this surging phenomenon."

The Task
You are currently working part—time as a travel agent. Your supervisor at the travel agency wants to offer a special vacation for families. He wants you to design three different 7—day vacation packages for a family — two adults and two children. The packages must cost from $2500 to $5500 for transportation, entertainment, and lodging. Food costs will not be included in the price of the package. You are to design a brochure or Web page showing the three options. Your brochure or Web page must include the following information:

• the type of transportation from your city to the destination;
• a description of the entertainment, with a day—by day schedule;
• a description of the lodging;
• a graph or table showing the average temperatures for each month for the particular destination.

The Process
To successfully complete this project, you will need to complete the following items.

• Find a mode of transportation for each vacation from your city. Several transportation options include airlines, trains, and busses. Be sure to record the costs of each option for your report to the travel agency. For help, try these Web sites.
  www.4airlines.com
  www.delta.com
  www.yahoo.com
  www.nwa.com
  www.amtrak.com
  www.greyhound.com
  www.expedia.com
• Find lodging for each vacation. You may want to consider motels, hotels, and rental condominiums. Be sure to record the costs for each option for your report to the travel agency. For help, try these Web sites.
  www.travelocity.com
  www.yahoo.com
• Determine what type of entertainment will be offered with each vacation package. You may want to consider amusement parks, museums, tours, and national parks. Be sure to record the costs for each option for your report to the travel agency. Check Web sites for different state that you are interested in for tourist attractions. For help, try these Web sites.
  www.funguide.com
  www.yahoo.com
  www.excite.com
• Find a yearly weather summary for each vacation destination. Record the average temperatures for each month and prepare a graph or table of the data. For help, try this Web site.
  www.weatherbase.com
• sure that the vacations are within the given price range.
• Be creative. Add some additional data, information, or even pictures to your brochure or Web page.

Guidance
Here are some additional questions and ideas you may want to consider for your project.

1. Will the cost of each vacation be the same at all times of the year?
2. What factors might affect the cost of the vacation package?
3. What type of graph would be best for showing the temperature variations for the travel destination?
4. Would the Internet be a useful tool in estimating the cost of meals, since meals are not included in the plan?
5. How could you use a spreadsheet to find the cost of different vacation packages?

Conclusion
Here are some ideas for concluding your project.

• Present your project to your class or at a family night.
• Present the information on a Web page. Have other students critique your project and help you to make improvements to your project.
• Write a one-page summary of your project, including what you have learned from researching this topic.
• Interview a travel agent to learn how they help families plan their vacations.

Questions

A student collected these data about the average high and low temperatures for Orlando, Florida, using the Internet.

1. Let numbers represent the months. For example, let 1 be January, 2 be February, and so on. Write two sets of ordered pairs. The first set will be (month, high temperature) and the second set will be (month, low temperature).
2. Construct a scatter plot of the data. Let the horizontal axis represent months and the vertical axis represent temperatures. Plot the first set of ordered pairs with a red colored pencil. Plot the second set of ordered pairs with a blue colored pencil.
3. Describe the two scatter plots.
4. Why would travelers be interested in your scatter plot?