Senior female solo travellers on the rise
The travel industry is increasingly designing products and organising tours to cater for what has become a burgeoning market – single female travellers.
This has led to a proliferation of female-only tours, where women of all ages can enjoy exploring the sites of the world without having to deal with men.
Sue Hile, founder of Adventurous Women, told Traveller, “It's not everybody, but there are women out there who feel that they just can't let their hair down and be themselves with men around and the company of women is different. You talk about different things, you laugh at different things. It's a very different dynamic.”
Marika Martinez, founder of Women's Own Adventures, is one of the pioneers of female-only tours in Australia, and says she’s seen a significant demographic shift to the point where 99 per cent of her clients are actually women who are aged 50 years and older.
Martinez told Traveller, “About half of those are single for one reason or another, the rest have partners who don't wish to travel or they've got health issues or they simply don't want to do the same kind of tours. Most of those women are empty nesters, about half are retired and they've got time and money on their hands. Travel gives them a chance to recapture some of their youth and vitality, to get out and do things while they're still active and healthy and they surprise themselves.”
Sue Hile, confirmed the change in demographic noting that there has been a substantial shift where most of the clients have been 40 to 60, now most of the people travelling with the group are in their 70s. And, as Hile told Traveller, “It may be because the husbands are no longer with them, and also we're living a lot longer. There are 70-year-olds who can wipe the floor with the 30-year-olds when it comes to walking."
Do you think you could ever see yourself as a solo traveller? Do you think you’d prefer travelling with your own gender or with a mix?
Related links:
10 city skylines that look spectacular at night
10 stunning photos of the world’s most luxurious first class train carriages
Rare photos depict life on the North Korea subway