easyJet Holidays is giving away FREE trips – but you must be a grandparent to bag one. Elderly family members can secure one of the limited places on-the-house, as part of a family booking to several European destinations – including Spain, Greece, and Italy.
The package holiday company launched the “Grans Go Free” initiative after seeing a rise in holidaymakers bringing their grannies and grandads along on their travels last year.
It comes as research of 2,000 UK adults found 57 percent regret not spending more time with their grandparents – and 51 percent say they have never holidayed with them.
Three-quarters (73 percent) of these wish they had the opportunity to ask their grandparents more about their lives, and nearly half (49 percent) would like to have learnt more from their wisdom.
As a result, of the parents polled, 73 percent have encouraged their own children to have a closer relationship with their grandmas and grandpas.
And 77 percent consider the bond between grandparents and their grandkids as one of the most special to have in the family – although 27 percent confess to speaking to their grandparents less than once a week.
However, 23 percent believe going on holiday with the older generation helps to bring the family closer together.
Matt Callaghan, chief operating officer from easyJet Holidays, which commissioned the research, said: “We’re proud to offer thousands of free kids places, but we feel it’s time to recognise the grandparents.
“This research shows how important grandparent and grandchild relationships are, and how much can be learned from making time for them.
“We’ve launched our “Grans Go Free” offer to tighten these important family relationships, and allow travellers to get even better value.”
The research went on to find 43 percent have previously been on a holiday with their grandparents, and five percent say they are hoping to bring them on upcoming holidays.
Spain, Italy, and France are the countries on the continent that holidaymakers would most like to visit with their elderly folks. However, 54 percent did say they would likely let their grandparents pick the destination, if they were planning a trip together.
For 30 percent, the grandparents in the family are the bigger earners – but despite this, only 35 percent would expect them to contribute financially if they came on holiday with them, wanting to treat them instead.
If they were to contribute, 39 percent would ask them to cover just their share of the holiday – but 21 percent would only ask that they pay for a meal or two on the trip.
Matt Callaghan added: “More families are choosing to holiday with grandparents, recognising that the joy of a getaway is amplified when shared across generations.
“They are able to create new family memories which each generation will cherish – and for some of the parents, they might even have a free babysitter on-hand, too.”
The “Grans Go Free” offer is part of the Big Orange Sale, which is running until Monday, and offers up to £400 off holidays. For more information, visit here.