Effect of intergenerational relationships in daily life on travel behaviors of adult children and parents: A comparative study of the two generations’ perspectives

Abstract

The aging population is becoming a growing concern worldwide, and adult child-parent travel plays a positive role in active aging. Previous studies on family travel with aging parents focused on adult children's perceptions of conflicts during travel, neglecting the influences of daily intergenerational relationships on pre-travel and post-travel behaviors. This study builds upon the solidarity-conflict model to investigate the effects of daily intergenerational relationships on pre-travel (e.g., travel motivation) and post-travel behaviors (e.g., satisfaction and well-being) of family tourists who have engaged in adult child-parent travel. Empirical findings reveal that solidarity is crucial in determining travel motivation, satisfaction, and subjective well-being, while conflict only significantly influences travel motivation. Further comparisons between the views of adult children and parents disclose differing effects of conflict on travel motivation and satisfaction, as well as how the influence of solidarity on satisfaction varies by generation. This study enhances our understanding of the spillover effect of daily intergenerational solidarity and conflict on family travel behavior and offers practical insights.