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INTERVIEW GLOBALBRENDA OR SINGLE PARENTS REQUEST A REVIEW COPY OF THE SINGLE PARENT TRAVEL HANDBOOK ABOUT The Single Parent Travel Handbook REVIEWS OF THE SINGLE PARENT TRAVEL HANDBOOK STATISTICS ON TRAVELING SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES |
FOR IMMEADIATE RELEASE The Single Parent Traveler is Alive and Well-but Neglected! Number one Request: to Meet Other Single Parent Families. September 2003 - A recent informal survey done by GlobalBrenda Publishing on its Single Parent Travel Network was awash with desperate pleas from the Single Parent Community wishing - some times begging - for attention from the travel industry, travel writers and the travel agent community. The number one complaint listed by single parents responding to the survey was the lack of companionship found from other single parents and their families. Brenda Elwell, Managing Editor of The Single Parent Travel Network and the author of The Single Parent Travel Handbook, adds "Single parents and their families feel that they are the odd-man out when surrounded by double parent families." Complaints from the 788 respondents went beyond lack of companionship. Like the 2001 survey, respondents complained repeatedly over the single supplements charged to single parents who travel with their kids. The respondents also complained about how most family travel specials do not cater to single parent families because two adults are required for most specials. Many concerns about safety appeared in this year's survey. These concerns were absent from the previous survey, which was held in the fall of 2001. Ms. Elwell believes that, "this sentiment is a reaction to world events." As with the 2001, this survey dispelled a misconception that single parents do not have enough disposable income to travel. The reality is that single parents exist at all income levels. The distribution between the six categories (<$29k, $30k-$39k, $40k-$49k, $50-$59k, $60k-$75k and >75k%) ranged from between 16% to 19%. Regardless of salary, most (86%) of respondents spent up to $3,999 on their annual vacation. "Nonetheless," Ms. Elwell added, "the Single Parent Family will always be receptive to a bargain, particularly if it targets their non-traditional family directly." The survey focused on single adults who travel with children. Almost all of the respondents were single parents and 90% were women. This differs from the 2001 survey where 22% of the respondents were men. Every respondent reported that they like trips that were a mix of active and relaxing. Two-thirds of single parents like to vacation at a beach or a mountain resort and thirty percent liked to take a cruise, although many complained that cruises were too expensive or shared them with single supplements. #### CONTACT:
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