Before planning your family's summer vacation, take a word of advice from former President Barack Obama and make it a memorable one for the kids.

"There is something spectacular about seeing a new place, being exposed to new ideas and experiencing a new culture. Traveling makes you grow," Obama said this week at the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Spain, according to SF Gate and Forbes.

"As a parent, when you are able to watch that sense of discovery in your children's eyes? That is more special than anything else."

The former commander-in-chief traveled all over the world for work, but he said the "most memorable trips" were the ones taken with his daughters, Malia and Sasha (20 and 17 years old, respectively).

Obama recalled a few trips 10 years ago in which former First Lady Michelle and the girls were able to travel to Russia, Ghana and Italy, where they met the pope: "to see a 10-year-old and 7-year-old be able to experience that sweep of the world is something I will remember for a long time," he remarked.

Ultimately, Obama sees travel as an opportunity to learn more about the world and appreciate diverse cultures -- something, he added, the younger generation already excels at.

"One of the benefits of travel industry is to remind people of the incredible value of the diversity of this planet and the differences we have," Obama said. "This is what makes the food in Seville different from food in Bangkok. They are both really good. But travel also reminds us of what we share and what we have in common and what things we share with each other. If you are wandering through a small village in Kenya and you see a mother and child playing and laughing, then you realize it's not that much different than a mother and child in Hawaii or Virginia."