As we became young teens, we were lucky enough to be taken on some of the first ‘foreign’ package holidays and visited exotic destinations like Lanzarote, where my brother sneaked his first taste of Sangria and lived to regret it.

Those days are firmly over because the kids of today are not just happy to roll with it, they are active participants and they have opinions about where they go, what they do when they get there, and they will absolutely tell you if what you are planning does not meet their expectations.

Welcome to the age of the kidfluencer.  And before you roll your eyes and think ‘well, in our day…’ just hear me out, because this change is actually quite interesting.

Families are taking their kids abroad at a much younger age than any previous generation did. So those children are building up a genuine set of opinions. They have been places. They have done things. By the time they are eight or nine, many have already visited several countries. So when it comes to planning the next trip, they want to be a part of it.

The ‘classic’ holiday of flights + beach + kids' club still works for plenty of families. I know because I book plenty of them, they are brilliant holidays and there is nothing wrong with a holiday that lets everyone switch off.

But there is a growing appetite for something ‘more’.  Families are looking for trips that offer experiences that combine a bit of adventure and that will expose their children to different cultures, different landscapes and different ways of life. A trip to Lapland to not only see Santa, but to play in the snow. A Disney bucket list trip to capture the magic or a Safari to learn lifelong lessons about the incredible wildlife.  These are the experiences that stay with a child for decades.

Once the kids hit their mid-teens, they change again (in more ways than one!) The theme parks start to lose their attraction and what I am seeing start to appeal is more cultural. Japan and South Korea have become popular with this age group, driven partly by pop culture and undoubtedly by online influence.  Destinations like Canada & Thailand are always high on the wishlist, they love the idea of something different, something off-piste.

There’s also been a real increase in multi-generational trips.  My own grandparents were older in attitude and wouldn’t have left their home town, but grandparents today are actively a part of the wider family, and that includes family holidays. Grandparents, parents, teens & toddlers travelling together is one of the most meaningful travel experiences you can have. I have planned several, making sure that the trips are tailored for everyone to enjoy - and they are always the ones clients talk about for years afterwards.

So today, when I chat to a client I am likely to hear different things.  Sometimes it is "we need two weeks in summer.” and I can help to make that seamless.  But equally likely is "our twelve-year-old is obsessed with marine biology" or "our daughter is determined to see the Northern Lights" or "we want to go to Japan before the kids don’t want to take holidays with us any more!"

My job is to listen and build something around it. I don’t just throw out a standard itinerary with the kids bolted on as an afterthought, but I build a trip that genuinely works for everyone.

A beach holiday is relatively straightforward to put together. But a trip to Japan with a 14 year-old who wants to eat ramen and to ride the bullet-train, a 10 year-old who wants to see a real sumo wrestler, and parents who want to learn about Samurai warriors & see cherry blossom is a touch more complicated.  But it is so much more memorable.

So the Kidfluencer age is here and it’s not an entirely bad thing.  Children who travel and develop an early curiosity about the world come back with stories and memories to last a lifetime.

If you have a Kidfluencer at home that has opinions about where you go next, the best thing you can do is to call someone who knows how to make them a reality.

That would be me.