Select Page

Women travel statistics from research done by the #1 women travel expert, indicate that women consumers now drive the world travel economy. Women are earning more, spending more and influencing all levels of the travel industry. Women’s purchasing power in the travel segment has never been higher. I’ve written 6+ books about women traveling and am happy to announce that I had a letter to the Editor post on the New York Times edition regarding Women Travel.  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/opinion/letters/women-travel-solo.html

Marybeth is a subject matter expert for women travel. 
  • Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care
  • Women represent the majority of the online marketing*
Women are traveling to more exotic destinations, doing more adventurous activities and increasingly traveling alone.

Women are traveling to more exotic destinations, doing more adventurous activities and increasingly traveling alone.

Women– young, old, single, married, widowed and gutsy are fueling an explosive growth in travel industry. 

According to Harvard Business Review, women control $15 trillion in spending power. These numbers represent a market that is double China and India’s growth markets combined. 

According to Forbes, women make 80% of the decisions and are expected to spend $125 billion this year.

Whether we are single or married, career women or stay-at-home moms, traveling with other women is empowering and good fun!

Whether we are single or married, career women or stay-at-home moms, traveling with other women is empowering and good fun!

80% of all travel decisions are made by women.

Regardless of :
• who they travel with
• who pays for the trip
• or where they go

A woman is the decision maker.

75% of those who take cultural,
adventure or nature trips are women.

There has been a 230% increase in the number of women-only travel companies in past six years.

With 67 million participants, the potential of the women’s market exceeds $19 trillion annually.

Women also travel differently than men do.

87% of women say they go for the beautiful scenery, compared with 72% of men,
According to Market Researcher Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell.

While statistics are limited, an estimated 32 million single American women traveled at least once in the last year, and about three in 10 made tracks five times or more, according to the Travel Industry Association.

Bachelorette-hood: The number of single women age 35 and older has been increasing and now totals 28 million, the Census Bureau says.

The average adventure traveler is not a 28-year old male, but a 47-year-old female. And she wears a size 12 dress.

Women spend an average of $295 annually per individual on outdoor apparel and equipment, according to OutdoorIndustry.org

Who’s Traveling?

– Many older women are also experiencing this rite of passage.
– An increasing portion of solo female travelers are Baby Boomers and single mothers.

The travel industry is just waking up to the economic power of women.

Recent Statistics.

According to Intrepid Travel, 63% were female (this is on par with the global figure of 64%).  The majority of our travellers are aged between 25 – 39 (46%).  So female travelers between the ages of 25 and 39 are their biggest market.

The girlfriend getaway market represent a significant amount of money – four percent of all U.S. travel spending, which is almost $200 million a year. 24 percent of American women have taken a girlfriend getaway in the past three years, and 39 percent of American women plan on taking one in the next three years. Source: AAA Girlfriend Travel Research Project #070005

Over 80% of those working women who purchased travel products or services offline in the past month researched their purchases online beforehand. Sources: Nielsen Net Ratings/WashingtonPost.com and Newsweek.com

Don’t forget. An effective way to reach your female audience is through online community sites. According to comScore, women’s community sites jumped 35 percent, particularly Glam Media and iVillage.com.

Research about women’s travel trends is fragmented by age, activities, and nationality.

Tour operators and travel  agent research indicates that:

70% of travel decisions of made by women. This statistic applies to women who are booking cruises, group travel, tours or tickets through an agent. When you add in online travel purchases, the amount rises to 92%.

Solo Travel Trends* 

Flying Solo: Traveling alone has become commonplace, with more than half (59%) of agents polled noting that they’ve seen more of their clients are traveling by themselves now compared to 10 years ago. This trend can be attributed to travelers’ life changes, as 43% of agents polled reported that the majority of clients traveling alone are doing so because they are now widowed or divorced.

Other reasons for traveling alone include travelers’ desire to follow their own schedule (17%), because they have more time to travel than their friends or family members (15%) or because they are traveling to pursue a specific interest (14%). Despite how solo travel has been romanticized in pop culture, very few agents reported clients traveling on their own in order to visit an unusual or emerging destination (6%) or to reconnect with themselves (4%).

Battle of the Sexes: Agents reported that it’s much more common for woman to travel alone than men, with 73% of agents polled noting that more female travelers embark on solo trips than their male counterparts.

 Golden Years: According to 44% of agents polled, most of their clients taking solo trips are 55 years of age or older, followed by those 45-55 (29%), 35-45 (18%), 25-34 (9%) and 18-24 years of age (0.4%).

Across the Pond: Nearly half (45 %) of agents polled noted Europe as the most popular destination for clients booking solo travel, followed closely by Mexico / Caribbean (33%) and the United States / Canada (15%). Surprisingly, more exotic destinations like Africa, Asia, Central or South America and the South Pacific ( all 2%) were cited as destinations less traveled. Agents reported the most common types of accommodations for solo travelers are resorts or full service hotels (46%) and cruises (40%), with limited service hotels (10%) hostels or guest houses (3%) and apartment or room rental direct from owner (2%) being much less common.

Budget Friendly: When booking travel alone, the majority of agents polled (82%) noted that their clients spend less than $4,999 on travel, with 16% of agents citing their clients have a larger budget of $5,000 – $9,999. A mere 2% of agents saw clients spend more than $10,000 on the average solo trip.

Play it Safe: When traveling alone, it’s no surprise that nearly half of agents polled (47%) noted a traveler’s greatest concern as encountering a dangerous situation without a travel companion to help. Additional concerns include medical emergencies (23%), potential flight delays or cancellations (24%), lost or stolen travel documents (4%) and lost luggage (3%). G iven these concerns, it’s not surprising that the majority of agents (87%) reported that their clients typically purchase a travel insurance policy when embarking on a trip alone. * According to a poll by Travel Guard

WOMEN’S TRAVEL HABITS *

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Women often travel together, and it is no different when it comes to booking trips. According to travel agents, the majority (91%) of female clients who book trips with other females are traveling with their friends, while only 8% are traveling with relatives.

Gutsy Traveler (HEY, thanks for using my website name and branding in your study!!) : According to the majority (55%) of travel agents, the most common reason women travel solo is because they value their independence and are sophisticated enough to travel alone. Some agents (28%) believe it is because they are interested in visiting an unusual destination, while 9% indicated their clients do so because they prefer making their own schedule. Only 4% of travel agents noted their female clients travel solo to reconnect with themselves.

Shop ‘Til You Drop: When women book travel, the majority (27%) of travel agents believe sightseeing and shopping are the most popular activities, as opposed to 1% who believe women book travel for voluntourism. Travel agents noted their female clients booking solo and group trips travel for a variety of reasons, including history, culture and education (17%), beach escapes (16%), adventure travel (15%) and cruises (13%).

Golden Years: According to 68% of travel agents, most female clients taking trips in small groups are over the age of 45. Women ranging between 35-44 years old make up 26% of those traveling in groups, while 5% are between the ages of 25-34. Only 1% are between 18-24 years old. Following the same trend, the majority (81%) of solo female travel clients are over 45 years old, while only 13% are between 35-44 years old. Only 6% of solo travelers are between 25-34, and 1% are between 18-24 years old.
Contact me for more up-to-date statistics, I keep track of many sources.

* According to a poll by Travel Guard, the insurance company.  Travel Guard polled travel agents to learn more about women’s travel habits.

* Quote from Marketing2Women http://www.m2w.biz/

 

Menu