We both laugh, remembering the snatched week right at the end of the season when the pool was just that little bit too cold.

That was two years, a third of her lifetime, ago – every parent has had a conversation like this and been surprised their child remembers. But they do. Family holidays are perfect opportunities to make memories you can share with each other for ever. They’re gifts that keep on giving, and they last a lifetime.

At the Family Holiday Charity, we want every family to spend time away together. Last year, we worked with VisitEngland – with funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – to offer families facing tough times through mental ill-health, domestic abuse, isolation or bereavement the chance of taking a holiday.

Together, we gave more than 800 families the opportunity to share new experiences and make memories on holiday, and we recently published some research about the difference these holidays made to them.

The majority (95%) said the holiday had a positive impact on their mental health and wellbeing. That’s probably not a surprise – it’s what most of us are looking for when we book a break, so it’s great to see that’s what they delivered.

More than three-quarters said their trip made them feel more optimistic about the future and better able to deal with the challenges they face. How many of us have come back from a holiday with the benefit of rest, distance and perspective and felt able to tackle problems we’ve put off for ages?

It was reassuring to see our gut feeling reflected in the research. But we also gained some new insights, which can take our understanding of the impact of tourism further. For instance, more than a third of families told us they are more active in their communities since they’ve come home from their holidays.

Nearly 60%, meanwhile, said they are more likely to take part in sport, outdoor and cultural activities, with around the same number (61%) telling us they have been spending more time together as a family.

And then there’s the big one. We asked the researchers to calculate the monetary value of this impact. How much does it save the NHS, social services and schools if families are happier, more resilient and connected in their communities because they’ve had a holiday?

The answer is that for every £1 we spent on helping families go on holiday, we made enough of a difference to save those public services more than £7. Powerful stuff and, I think, a new way to think about communicating the impact and value of tourism.

But it won’t be the stats you remember if you read the report. It’ll be the moving and emotional stories families shared with us about what their holidays meant to them. The mum who told us her sons felt free. The parent who told us it had mended a broken family that little bit. The person who said afterwards they felt they could conquer the world.

So, grab a box of tissues, head to our website and give it a read. I promise it will make you think differently about what travel can do.

Kat Lee is chief executive of the Family Holiday Charity