Women Who Travel
The biggest spending force in the industry
As we head into Memorial weekend and the summer travel season, women will continue to make up to 80% of travel decisions. The statistics around women who travel are higher than ever - so why aren’t brands and marketing keeping up?
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As you likely know by now, I am an avid solo traveler, who has touched down on most continents for big trips, road tripped extensively back home in both the USA and Canada, living in places like Vancouver, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, New York City, and London. I write, podcast and create content around culture and travel, have worked with many brands + hotels over the years as a communications & marketing leader, and I consult on it still. So it has always struck me that there was a big gap in the how those of us in media, marketing, advertising and product development, keep missing the opportunities around the immense purchasing power of women who travel in the largest numbers. I originally wrote about Ageism in our Travel Marketing & Media years ago, but as we approach spring & summer travel season, I thought we should revisit this topic to rethink how we are engaging with women travelers, widening the definitions on who the travelers are (all ages and group type), what they want or prioritize, and above all, not missing the abundant opportunities. There is abundant research on consumer spending, and women who travel specifically, but here is a short roundup to get you started and inspired. Though research about women’s travel trends is fragmented by age, activities, and nationality - the below is largely are largely American travel stats - and many pulled from The Gutsy Traveler website research curation and Conde Nast Traveler’s Women Who Travel:
Women account for 80% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care - so it should not be a surprise that they make up the majority of travel decisions regardless of who they travel with, who pays for the trip, or where they go (Forbes + HBR)
Women of all demographics and ages are fueling an explosive growth in travel industry, hence there has been a 230% increase in the number of women-only travel companies in recent years. 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%.
According to Intrepid Travel, groups were 63% female (this is on par with the global figure of 64%). The majority of our travelers are aged between 25 – 39 (46%). So female travelers between the ages of 25 and 39 are their biggest market.
The girlfriend getaway market represents 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
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.
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%.
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%).
Solo Travel: 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%). 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%).
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.
Where to: 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.
Safety first: 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 given 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. (poll by Travel Guard)
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 and Newsweek
*Listen to my conversations with women around the world on my Travel Oracles podcast
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*Follow Conde Nast Traveler’s ‘Women Who Travel’ section, podcast and recent Power List
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