Solo women travel is growing by leaps and bounds.
Particularly for women traveling alone, there is renewed appeal of organized adventures and this sector of the travel industry is back and better than ever. It's quickly becoming a popular alternative to all-inclusive resorts, ocean cruises and overcoming the stigma often associated with group tours.
Solo travelers have been the strongest segment for TourRadar, a leading sustainable travel and adventure booking platform, and the most popular destinations include Egypt, Asia, India and Indonesia with Vietnam, Thailand and Japan on the rise. In addition, TourRadar's list of trips operated by Female Guides include 98 women-led adventures from one to 28 days in length featuring travel through many unique destinations including Kathmandu and Pokhara.
The demand for solo women travel has increased greatly.
TourRadar co-founder and CEO Travis Pittman recently offered insights into the company.
What type of demand is there for the female-led tours?
Overall, 68% of our customers are women, and the percentage is exponentially higher when you consider that women are the primary decision-makers for travel. Despite this, women are disproportionately represented in guiding and operator ownership and leadership. To help balance the scales, TourRadar is a proud supporter of wmnsWORK whose mission is to grow the economic ownership by women and non-binary leaders in our sector. In addition, many of our operators are offering women’s only adventures. For example, Intrepid Travel launched Women’s Expeditions and Insight Vacations launched its Wander Women tours created by all-female teams and featuring women in key roles. Presently we offer 98 women-led adventures through many unique destinations including Kathmandu and Pokhara.
Solo travelers have been the strongest segment for TourRadar.
What prompted you to begin TourRadar?
My brother and I left Queensland, Australia to live and work in London, UK. Our experiences opened our eyes to the power of travel. We first founded Bugbitten, a pre-Facebook social networking platform for travelers to share travel photos together. The business enjoyed a modicum of success and inspired a larger purpose in travel. The idea for TourRadar was born out of a problem we faced. When trying to book a one-week sailing tour in Croatia online through a US-based company, the process was incredibly cumbersome and risky. We had to spend ages searching through websites, brochures and magazines, wire over money to a company (who we weren’t even sure existed), figure out transportation to and from the airport, and wander around a foreign town to find the small office of the operator. That’s when we realized that there could be a better, safer solution for this, and we decided to create TourRadar.
What are the advantages of booking with TourRadar?
Our Adventure Booking Platform offers the world’s largest selection of multi-day organized adventures worldwide, helping people seize and savor every opportunity travel has to offer. TourRadar’s intuitive online platform seamlessly connects travelers and travel agents with 2,500+ operators, offering 50,000+ organized adventures in more than 160 countries globally. With 24/7 customer service, flexible booking conditions and extensive insurance options, TourRadar gives travelers peace of mind. And the company’s Best Price Guarantee assures travelers get the best travel experiences for the best prices. Committed to both our travelers and our environment, TourRadar signed the Glasgow Declaration in an effort to foster positive change in the tourism industry. We enable all travelers to view and offset the carbon impact of their adventures, and we work tirelessly with local operators to help protect and strengthen the communities that benefit from adventure tourism.
Requests for solo women travel have grown ten-fold.
Doni Belau, founder of Girls Guide to the World, says the requests for solo women travel has grown ten-fold since 2019. “I think the pent up demand was always there, but historically there were very few options for solo women travelers,” she explains. “The large travel companies weren't paying attention, or felt women's travel was too niche. It's taken companies like ours, who believe women should be empowered to see the world even if they don't have the perfect travel companion, to create compelling, women-only travel experiences. Now that it's successful, it seems like an obvious market. After all, 50% of all adult women in the US are single. Plus, we hear from married women every day who have the desire to travel but their spouses can't or don't want to.”
Belau breaks the most popular destinations for solo women travelers into two main categories: Iconic destinations like Paris, the Amalfi Coast, the Greek Islands or Amsterdam, and dream destinations like Morocco, Egypt, Japan and Bali.
Solo women on tours get to meet new friends.
According to Debra Asberry, president and founder of Women Traveling Together, travel options for solo women travelers continue to grow exponentially, primarily in the niche market of women-only tours. This growth has paralleled the increasing financial independence of women who have come to the realization that a travel partner is no longer a prerequisite to travel. The solo woman traveler can prioritize her own interests, knowing that the other women she will meet on tour will be like-minded, engaging and have similar expectations.
She adds, “An underappreciated segment of the solo woman market is the 50-plus age group looking for age appropriate active travel. The active element for the 50-plus solo woman traveler puts less emphasis on hiking, biking and kayaking and more emphasis on things like learning how to make Paella, dance the tango, meeting a shaman or holding a baby alligator. Things that also engage the mind and stir the heart and soul.”
A client of Women Traveling Together summed up this sentiment succinctly in response to a post on the company’s Facebook page.
“It’s why I chose Women Traveling Together to begin with, the 80% join solo part. I saw that statistic and it’s what significantly influenced my decision. I didn’t want to travel with a group where the majority or even many already knew each other or came paired up. If that was the case it’s almost as if I would be traveling solo anyway; just more 3rd wheel experiences, which is no fun in general, let alone on vacation. On both my trips with Women Traveling Together, I met amazing women, some of whom I still keep in touch. That wouldn’t have occurred if I’d gone paired up or if many others were.”
