Nicole Geer, Ben Koszyk, Lauren Krieger, Lindsay Rubin

Tourists with Children

We set out to investigate how traveling with children changes tourists’ experiences. We
discovered that traveling with children is very different from traveling without children. According
to Valene Smith, the definition of a tourist is "a temporarily leisured person who voluntarily visits
a place away from home for the purpose of experiencing a change." A parent is a tourist that
can’t fully escape their daily responsibilities. People traveling with children have to be parents
first and tourists second. Parents have to tailor their experience to the needs of their children
above their personal desires as a traveler.
There are many considerations to make when traveling with a child in Florence. The
main issue we saw with tourists traveling with children was transportation. Specifically, pushing
strollers on the narrow, uneven sidewalks is not practical and can jostle children. There are
many locations that involve climbing stairs, which cannot be done easily with a stroller. Carrying
children, either with a harness or not, can be tiring for the parents. Parents have to be prepared
at all times, with snacks when kids are hungry, or trips to the bathroom when necessary. This
can be challenging because kids can be picky eaters, and public restrooms are not commonly
found. There are many places that are not ideal to bring children to, including: art galleries,
theaters, fancy restaurants, and bars.
Traveling with children is its own form of tourism, where the needs of the child dictate the
experience. A parent is never fully leisured.

Two mothers are seen in the Piazza San A family marvels the Statua equestre di
Marco carrying backpacks containing Cosimo I de’ Medici in Florence’s Piazza
supplies in preparation for an eventful day della Signoria (5/13/19).
abroad (5/13/19).
Nicole Geer, Ben Koszyk, Lauren Krieger, Lindsay Rubin

A father offers a hand to his son along A father pushing a double stroller while the
Florence’s Arno River (5/13/19). mother follows behind holding the hand of her
child in front of the Pitti Palace (5/13/19).

Father holds baby in harness as he walks Chicken Nuggets sign found on food stand
through the Uffizi art museum (5/12/19). containing a variety of Italian foods and
delicacies (5/13/2019).
Nicole Geer, Ben Koszyk, Lauren Krieger, Lindsay Rubin

A mother and daughter taking a break on the A girl standing on a bench as her dad takes a
south side of the Ponte Vecchio (5/13/19). picture by the Church of Orsanmichele
(5/13/2019).

A mother carries her daughter by the Church Professor Felluga walks with Lorenzo by the
of Orsanmichele (5/13/2019). Florence Cathedral (5/13/2019).