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The solo female traveller market is booming. Chloe Cann investigates the rise and looks at how to improve your sales for this expanding market segment.
In the opening sequence of Hollywood blockbuster Wild, a frustrated and exhausted Cheryl Strayed, played by Reese Witherspoon, ends up losing her left walking boot down a mountainside. In anger and exasperation, she throws the other to follow it. Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone might be an extreme example, but many solo travellers will likely relate to similar frustration while on the road without support, whether lost in a souk and hassled by vendors, wearied by a multitude of tuk-tuk drivers or dealing with dubious information from supposed officials.
Whether your solo traveller clients are male or female, they will likely have to deal with issues such as single supplements and decisions such as whether to travel independently or on an escorted tour. But where experiences for solo travellers differ is when it comes to gender. Lone female travellers are forced to consider and confront far more safety and cultural issues than their male counterparts.
“Safety is a major concern for women travelling on their own,” says Sean Tipton, Abta’s media relations manager. But despite the additional worries that solo women travellers face, operators are reporting a surge in demand from the demographic. Almost 80% of Saga Holidays’ solo traveller clientele are now females, up from 75% just a few years ago. Such is the demand that the operator has added 45% extra rooms for singles on its 2016-17 departures. Back-Roads Touring’s customer base is also dominated by solo women, who make up 73%. And from 2010-15, escorted tours specialist Intrepid Travel saw a 79% rise in solo female travellers in their fifties.
Andy Fairburn, marketing manager at singles travel specialist Solos Holidays, says it is a mix of changing demographics and an increasingly adventurous public that has been the catalyst for this growth.“The number of people taking a holiday on their own overall has increased by 60% since 2008: 3.5 million British adults go on a solo trip every year,” he says. The operator, which has been serving the solo traveller market for 30 years, has an almost equal weighting of male and female clients.
Fairburn says he has seen trends change over the years. “It’s interesting because solo travel is becoming more popular these days – there are far more people doing it than ever before and there’s a huge commercial opportunity to sell to solos as it’s a growing market.” Aside from the increase in the single population, he adds that it is the changing perceptions of solo travel that have boosted the number of solo travellers. “Even five to six years ago the idea of travelling on your own was something that was looked down upon,” he says. “You were pitied almost. The mentality now is more liberated and people are much more proud to travel on their own.”
As perceptions have changed, so has the company’s marketing strategy. “When our company was developed, there was a tendency to talk in comforting terms, saying things like ‘we’ll take care of you’ or ‘we’ll look after you’,” he notes. “Now it’s more, ‘Go out there and get your hands dirty.’”
Agents can, of course, arrange tailor-made tours for their clients, using their local knowledge and travel expertise to reassure female clients who choose to travel independently. In such cases, Abta’s Tipton suggests researching hotels that can offer facilities such as dedicated women-only floors, or booking them into the women-only carriages of long-distance trains. But for clients (and agents) who want total peace of mind, an escorted tour is the most straightforward option.
Hazel McGuire, general manager of Back-Roads Touring, explains that the company sees a huge uptake from solo female travellers on its activity-based holidays, which focus on culture, experiences and picking up new skills, such as cookery classes and food and drink tastings. McGuire adds that solo female travellers often pick destinations that they may not otherwise feel comfortable visiting independently, such as Morocco. She highlights Back-Roads’ 10-day Majestic Morocco (from £1,465pp), seven-day Enchanting Southern Italy (from £1,350pp) and four-day Orkney & The Highlands (from £793pp) as three tours that are ideal for solo female travellers.
Intrepid reveals similar sales patterns for its customers, with exotic, long-haul destinations including India, south-east Asia and South America the most popular for its solo traveller customers. The operator’s head of business development, Daniel Pawlyn, elaborates: “India is one of our most popular destinations for solo female travellers. It’s a wonderful place to visit, but it can be chaotic and disorienting at first, so travelling in a group with a local tour guide is the perfect way to experience it. Our Classic Rajasthan trip (from £795pp) is particularly popular.”
Much like Solos’ Fairburn, McGuire says solo female travellers should not instantly be relegated to the label of vulnerable and lonely individuals that need to be “looked after” and wouldn’t otherwise dream of travelling alone. Instead, McGuire states that many of its solo women customers have previously travelled independently, but for whatever change in circumstances or feeling, have decided to go on an organised holiday. “The feedback from our customers is that they see it as a nice, easy transition away from independent travel – lots of our customers have been solo travellers in the past but want to try something new. Small-group touring gives agents a hook in terms of interesting those who have done independent travel in the past.”
With this in mind, McGuire, Pawlyn and Fairburn all emphasise the importance of the flexibility that group touring offers, which it is well worth agents highlighting, with opportunities for both time alone and group activities while on the road. And with so many operators reporting a rising tide of solo female travellers, there has arguably never been a better time to tap into the zeitgeist and suggest an escorted tour to your female clients.
“Intrepid is running a ‘Go Solo, Travel Together’ campaign on its agent website intrepidlovesagents.com, where agents can download posters and images to use on social media,” says Pawlyn. “This market has bags of potential for the trade.”
Think about how your clothing will fit in with local customs – what are local women wearing? Wear a wedding ring (even if you don’t normally) to help avoid harassment. Be wary of new “friends”, even if they are fellow holidaymakers. Don’t tell strangers where you are staying or give out too many details about your travel plans. If you’re travelling alone, you may attract unwelcome attention and you may receive unwelcome propositions or remarks – it is usually best to ignore them. Act confidently Ask your hotel or hostel to recommend a taxi firm – try to pair up with someone you know when travelling by taxi. If you ever feel uncomfortable or in danger, don’t be afraid to draw attention to yourself by shouting and making a fuss. In English-speaking countries you may receive more attention if you shout “fire!” rather than “help!” When going out at night, always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to return. |
