Family Time and Own Time on Holiday: Generation, Gender, and Group Dynamic Perspectives from New Zealand
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FAMILY TIME AND OWN TIME ON HOLIDAY: GENERATION, GENDER, AND GROUP DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVES FROM NEW ZEALAND By Heike Annette Schänzel A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Tourism Management Victoria University of Wellington 2010 Abstract This thesis is about the family holiday experiences of the whole family group and its individual members by studying the anticipations before the holiday and the short- and longer-term holiday experiences/recollections after their holiday. This primarily qualitative study links a survey with data triangulation of whole-family interviews. The combination of different methods reflects the holistic and critical research approach within the interpretive research paradigm. It takes a symbolic interactionist perspective which allows a focus on inter-personal relations and forms the basis for a grounded theory methodology (GTM). There is an absence of family tourism research on the experiences of the father, the child, and on group dynamics which has excluded the individual and collective perspectives on the different phases of the holiday. The conceptual framework addresses the gaps identified (as reflected in the research question) by exploring the social experiences and meanings of family holidays over time using gender, generation, and group perspectives. This study is based on a parental survey through schools which was followed by three rounds of whole-family interviews (once before and twice after the holiday) conducted over about one year (2006–2007). The survey with 110 parents provided context and selection of participants for the intensive study of 10 families and their members (20 parents and 20 children). This study resulted in a definition of family holidays based on parental perspectives from the survey and familial perspectives from the interviews which encapsulated notions of togetherness, plurality of families, purpose, change of routine, fun, balance, individual pursuits, compromise, conflict, and length. The iterative research combined with the GTM resulted in a theoretical framework of the main themes on family holidays as governed by family time and own time. Family time encapsulates the time spent together with the immediate and extended family while own time encapsulates freedoms from family commitments to pursue own interests alone or with peers. The relationship between these notions of time leads to the internal family group dynamics of cooperation, ii compromise, and conflict which are influenced by contextual factors. While family time dominates the Western discourse on family life, it is the inclusion of more individualistic elements in own time that acknowledges a more realistic and sustainable presentation of family holidays. Other results highlight that parents and children bring different purposes on holiday in that parents are more deliberate about social identity formation whereas children seek fun and sociality. The findings also emphasise the undervaluation of the fathers’ role as main entertainer of the children. Thus, more debate is needed about the different generational, gendered, and group roles and understandings on holiday. Family holidays, then, have multiple meanings and purposes reflecting the multivocality of its members. A more holistic and critical approach in thinking and research is needed to allow for a homeostasis between social identities based on collective pursuits and on more individual interests. iii For Demian, Anaïs, and Maya, you are the future of New Zealand To the families in this study, it has been a wonderful experience iv Acknowledgements During the past three years and three months innumerable people have assisted me in my goal of writing a PhD thesis. They have offered their time, knowledge, experience, wisdom, and support. It is impossible to mention everyone by name but here are a few of the individuals who deserve acknowledgement, with sincere apologies to those who have not been mentioned by name. Firstly, to my supervisors Dr Karen Smith, Dr Adam Weaver, and Professor Doug Pearce, I would like to say a big thank you. You helped me make sense of a project which at times seemed overwhelming, provided sound advice and encouragement, and kept me focused on the end goal. I have learned a lot from you and feel privileged to have had such a committed supervisory team. I would also like to thank all the staff members at VMS, and other colleagues at VUW who provided support or offered friendly words of encouragement. A special thanks to Linda Walker, Helen Jiang, and Sophia Lum for great administrative support and Deborah Jones for being such an efficient PhD director. I am also indebted to VUW for giving me the financial support through the PhD scholarships and the research funding from VMS. Without this I would have been unable to commence and complete this project. I cannot forget my PhD colleagues who have gone through the process with me and have provided a wonderful social environment filled with laughter and encouragement. Thank you and best wishes to Garoon Pongsart, Zanele Ndaba, Lois Parkes, June Longit, Rebecca Bednarek, Jorge Velez, Guillaume Rosquin, Cesar Guala, Janine Williams, Huong Nguyen, and Wayne Pihema. To the families in this study, thank you so much for sharing your time and your stories, and welcoming me into your homes. I feel privileged to tell your stories. Finally, I want to thank my children, husband, and friends for supporting me in this intellectual pursuit. v Table of Contents 1. Introducing the study 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Background to the study 1 1.3 Philosophical perspective 5 1.4 The family on holiday 6 1.5 Research context – New Zealand 9 1.6 Research questions 14 1.7 Methodology 15 1.8 Chapter outline 19 2. Family, leisure and tourism: A literature review 20 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Families in New Zealand: Background and context 21 2.2.1 Families, time, and work/home-life relationships 23 in New Zealand 2.2.2 Family leisure in New Zealand 26 2.2.3 Kiwi family holidays and the domestic tourism context 27 2.3 Researching families at home: International perspectives 32 2.3.1 The idealisation of family time in Western society 33 2.3.2 Gender and generational perspectives on family time 36 2.4 Researching families within leisure: International 40 perspectives 2.4.1 The Western idealisation of family leisure 40 2.4.2 Gender and generation in family leisure 42 2.5 Researching family holidays: International marketing 45 perspectives 2.5.1 Motivations for family holidays 47 2.5.2 Family holiday decision making 50 2.5.3 Family holiday satisfaction 54 2.6 The experiential and temporal dimensions of family 56 holidays – a conceptual framework 2.6.1 The individual tourist perspective 58 – a Western male perspective 2.6.2 The dyadic partnership perspective 60 – a gendered perspective 2.6.3 The triangular family group perspective 65 – gender, generation, and group dynamic perspectives 2.7 Conclusion 72 3 Research paradigm and methodology 73 3.1 Introduction 73 3.2 Research paradigm 74 3.2.1 Progressive qualitative tourism research 77 vi 3.3 Qualitative research strategies 79 3.3.1 Grounded theory methodology (GTM) 81 3.3.2 Case study inquiry 82 3.3.3 Whole family research 84 3.4 Methodological framework 86 3.4.1 Linking of survey with whole-family interviews 86 3.4.2 Data triangulation and whole-family research 89 3.5 Phases of the methodology 94 3.5.1 Phase 1: Survey through schools 95 3.5.2 Phases 2–4: Whole-family interviewing 100 3.5.2.1 Family interviews pre-holiday 106 3.5.2.2 Family interviews post-holiday (short-term) 109 3.5.2.3 Family interviews post-holiday (longer-term) 113 3.6 Analytical framework 116 3.6.1 Analysis of phases through the GTM 117 3.6.2 Evaluation and reflexivity 127 3.7 Conclusion 130 4 Defining the family holiday: Background and themes 132 4.1 Introduction 132 4.2 Background to family holiday behaviour 132 4.2.1 Family travel patterns 133 4.2.2 Parental perspectives on motivations 140 4.3 Definition of family holidays 141 4.3.1 Parental definition 142 4.3.2 Familial definition 146 4.4 Contextual factors 148 4.4.1 Destination choice 149 4.4.2 Finances 150 4.4.3 Weather 151 4.4.4 Accommodation space 153 4.4.5 Length 154 4.4.6 Other factors 156 4.5 Overview of the theoretical framework of the main themes 158 4.5.1 Family time: Time spent together 158 4.5.2 Own time: Freedom from family commitments 159 4.6 Conclusion 160 5 Family time on holiday 162 5.1 Introduction 162 5.2 Ideal of family time 162 5.3 Change of routine/quality time 164 5.3.1 Different from normal 165 5.3.2 Fun/entertainment 175 5.4 Social connectedness/VFR 180 5.4.1 Time for (re)connecting 181 vii 5.4.2 Social obligation 184 5.4.3 Social support 185 5.5 Social identity/traditions 186 5.5.1 Creating memories 186 5.5.2 Generativity 188 5.6 Enforced family time 191 5.7 Conclusion 194 6 Own time on holiday 196 6.1 Introduction 196 6.2 Balance of time 196 6.3 Own interests 198 6.3.1 Activities 199 6.3.2 Relaxation 203 6.4 Peer time 207 6.4.1 Couple/adult time 208 6.4.2 Sibling/friends time 209 6.5 Comparisons 211 6.5.1 Age differential 211 6.5.2 Non-family holidays 212 6.6 Internal dynamics 214 6.6.1 Cooperation 215 6.6.2 Compromise 216 6.6.3 Conflict 217 6.7 Temporal dimension 219 6.7.1 Pre-holiday: Anticipations and recollections of ideals 220 6.7.2 On-holiday: Everyday experiences 221 6.7.3 Post-holiday: Recollection and anticipation of ideals 222 6.8 Conclusion 224 7 Theoretical interpretation of family holiday experiences