The treat of a lifetime - but it's grandparents only

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 holiday makers bringing their grannies and grandads along on their travels last year.

It comes as research of 2,000 UK adults found 57 per cent regret not spending more time with their grandparents - and 51 per cent have never holidayed with them.

Three-quarters (73 per cent) of these wish they had the opportunity to ask their grandparents more about their lives. Nearly half (49 per cent) would like to have learnt more from their wisdom, and as a result, of the parents polled, 73 per cent have encouraged their children to have a closer relationship with their grandmothers and fathers.

Seventy-seven per cent say the bond between grandparents and kids is one of the most special to have in the family - yet 27 per cent confess to speaking to their grandparents less than once a week.

And 23 per cent believe going on holiday with them helps to bring the family closer.

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.”

A trip well deserved

The research went on to find 43 per cent have previously been on a holiday with their grandparents and five per cent say they are hoping to bring them on upcoming holidays.

Spain, Italy and France are the countries on the continent which holidaymakers would most like to visit with their elderly folks. However, 54 per cent did say they would likely let their grandparents pick the destination if they were planning a trip together.

For 30 per cent, the grandparents in the family are the bigger earners - but despite this only 35 per cent would expect them to contribute financially if they came on holiday with them, wanting to treat them instead.  

If they were to contribute, 39 per cent would ask them to cover just their share of the holiday, but 21 per cent 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 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.