By Matt Villano, on October 11, 2014

Supporting family travel

Families are a big part of what we do at Expedia. They comprise a significant portion of our customer base. They trust us to give them the best prices, information, and perspective on travel. In short, they rely on us to make their travel dreams come true.

Now it’s our turn to give back. Expedia is proud to announce that we are one of the founding partners of the Family Travel Association (FTA), a new group that aims to inspire families to travel and to advocate travel as an essential part of every child’s education. In short, the FTA emphasizes the role of travel in the development of children, and prioritizes travel as an important activity for family bonding and development.

These are concepts we wholeheartedly embrace, both as a company and as a source of original travel content.

Naturally, then, working with the FTA was a perfect fit.

My girls, on the beach in Paia, Maui

I recently sat down with Rainer Jenss, a friend and the founder and president of the FTA, to discuss Expedia’s relationship with the group, and why he is so excited to be working with us (and the other founding partners).

Jenss told me that, at the end of the day, the FTA is “about creating an industry voice that hasn’t existed before,” and noted that this “voice” will help change the way families travel, charting a path for the families of today as well as future generations of travelers.

“At the FTA, we believe that when kids learn to travel, they will travel to learn,” he said. “That’s why we’re proud to have Expedia as a founding member.  By helping families make their vacation dreams a reality, we’ll see more and more families hitting the road and taking to the skies. That’s something that’s good for business, and our children’s future!”

The terms of our partnership are still evolving, but, at this point, we are committed to helping the FTA to promote awareness and coverage of family travel overall. That will mean more coverage of family travel on this blog.

It also will mean additional projects, in conjunction with the FTA and independently (stay tuned for more news about that).

I’ll be spearheading many of those efforts; not only do I serve as senior editor of the Expedia Viewfinder, but I also sit on the board of the FTA. My colleagues, Anne Taylor Hartzell, Kara Williams, and Carol Cain, all of whom specialize in writing about family travel (both on this blog and on their own respective blogs), also will contribute. So, too, will our fearless leader (and amazing mom), Sarah Gavin.

For now, check out the introductory video the FTA produced to give potential supporters a better sense of what the organization aims to achieve. When you’re done watching that (it’s only about four minutes long), click through to the organization’s website to learn more. Read this article, from Skift, about the effort. And rest assured, if you’ve got kids and dreams to travel with them, now—more than ever—Expedia is in your corner and on your side.