Beyond the media hype, what do child-free tourism options really represent? Beyond the marketing rhetoric of some and the outrage of others, the situation and motivations are more complex than the fantasized image. While they call into question the place of children in our society, these new offerings also reveal fundamental social problems. We can try to understand them, rather than simply condemn them.

Spring 2024, the French press discovers ” adults only ” leisure activities   . Following a trend in sunny tourist destinations (Mexico, Thailand, Spain), hotels, campsites and holiday sites in France are now advertised as adults-only . Public opinion is so upset that Senator Laurence Rossignol is tabling a bill against these new forms of discrimination against children and their families, which current legislation would not prohibit. She emphasizes that mothers are just as excluded as their children, as is seen in countries where ”  no kids  ” zones are highly developed (for example, in South Korea ).

A year later, in the spring of 2025, Sarah El Haïry, just appointed High Commissioner for Children, rekindled the controversy by convening tourism professionals and announcing her intention to take radical measures against this trend, which she deemed unacceptable. For a management researcher, if there is an economic phenomenon, it is because there is a demand, or even needs, to which companies respond by finding it beneficial.

We therefore began an exploratory study on these services reserved for adults, focusing on the motivations of customers and companies.

A rapidly growing offer

For now, there are no proven figures on the number of these services in France. Experts, or so-called experts, who have been contacted, claim 3 to 5% of the market, but without supporting studies. However, all say they are growing rapidly. The definition of the concept is also not unanimous. Rather than 18, many providers set the threshold at 16, or even 12 in some cases. It’s not so much their age as their childish behavior that poses a problem.

In terms of sectors, the offers mainly concern tourist accommodation, hotels, campsites, and clubs. For the moment, there are no identified restaurants or transport providers, as is the case in other countries, except for stopovers in France by foreign cruise ships .

On the customer side, aspirations can be classified into three main categories, which can be combined. First, the search for a quiet space and time allowing for rest, protected from disturbances attributed to children (noise, demands, agitation, etc.). Then, a search for intimacy between adults, within the framework of couples or close friends. And finally, the exception and distinction, since the ”  adults only ” dimension is associated with a premium  experience , through the comfort and exclusivity of the activities offered.

A “premium” offer?

So, would the mere fact of banning the presence of children from leisure venues be enough to make them reputed to be high-end sites? According to companies, this economic model would then be more profitable, as observed in other countries . With, on the one hand, an increase in turnover, due to growing demand, an extension of stays beyond school holidays, and a clientele willing to pay more for a perceived superior service. And, on the other, a distinctive commercial offer, without new investments and even with a reduction in charges, since the presence of children would entail additional costs and charges: supervision and especially consumables (especially water). Some operators even put forward the ecological argument, which is also found in another childless movement, the ”  ChildFree  “, couples who do not want to procreate.

However, we have not yet verified the veracity of the improved profitability. Some entrepreneurs speak of typical results, due to lower-than-expected demand and a growing demand from these clients for more expensive, luxury services.

Legal discrimination or not?

There remains the problem of the illegality of discrimination “based on age or family status” according to Article 225-1 of the Penal Code , which can lead to fines of up to 45,000 euros and three years in prison. Until now, to avoid this legal risk, some companies have sought to implicitly discourage families, announcing that their premises were unsuitable for children, with dangerous equipment, an unsupervised swimming pool, or a lack of space for strollers…

Since the media coverage, the adults-only positioning has been more widely assumed in corporate communications, specialized sites are flourishing, and platforms even offer a specific ”  adults only  ” option (Booking, TripAdvisor). Lawyers for these professionals claim that since the legislation is vague, the principle of freedom of business would be arguable, since these are sites reserved for adults (”  adults only  “) and not prohibited to children (”  no kids  “). In any case, legal experts believe that the reform of the law, as it is being considered in the Senate, would have no effectiveness .

Especially since, after two years of heated media debate, no complaints from families or associations have been recorded. So, is French society in favor of this development? Moreover, the private sphere, which is unregulated, is proving much more intolerant, with a growing number of childless wedding ceremonies and an increase in the number of places where they are no longer tolerated (cinemas, restaurants, public transport).

On rental platforms (Airbnb, Gîtes, etc.), it is also among private owners that we found the most questionable comments and practices to dissuade families with young children.

The triumph of “misopedia”

Would adult-only offerings then reveal a society that has become misopedatic  ? The reality is more complex. It seems that we are instead witnessing a segmentation of tourism providers, with a tendency to exclude children for some, and a specialization in families for others. Paradoxically, after much media turmoil, the High Commissioner ultimately proposed the sole measure of labeling ”  family-friendly  ” services, which confirms and reinforces the social segmentation she claimed to circumscribe.

Furthermore, while childless couples (under 30 and retired) are logically the most represented, assuming they do not want to suffer other people’s children during their leisure time, we nevertheless find a significant proportion of parents and mothers (more than a third) who are fans of these services in other countries . These express the need for a break without their children, time to rest from the exhaustion of everyday life, while feeling guilty about it.

In addition, there are childcare professionals, teachers, caregivers and nannies, who also need to rest, in order to be able to better care for children the rest of the year. This is not a rejection of children, but rather the need for moments without the mental and physical burden .

A more egalitarian measure?

Another social consideration: abroad, these tourist offers are frequented by wealthy French people.

Their widespread use across the country makes them accessible to the middle classes. But probably not to working-class mothers, especially single mothers, who need rest the most. This discrimination based on age and gender is therefore also more broadly social and economic.

Despite the media hype, one may wonder about the true scale and profitability of this phenomenon. The effectiveness of a blind ban, which ignores the reasons for these demands, also deserves to be questioned. More structurally, in this cacophony, the voice of those most affected—children—is completely absent.

Adult-only offerings raise more complex issues than media debates suggest. Current responses from policymakers appear, at best, useless, if not counterproductive.

Author Bio: Vincent Lagarde is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, at the University of Limoges