Solo women travelling in good company

West Australian

2 days ago

Women-only tours to destinations around the world are attracting solo guests of all ages and relationship status.
Intrepid Travel offers six women's expeditions to India, Nepal, Morocco, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, with help available to book flights and pre or post accommodation.
Senior product manager Jenny Gray launched Intrepid's initial expeditions to Jordan, Iran and Morocco on International Women's Day in 2018.
They started as her passion project after she listened to feedback from women who wanted more opportunities to connect with local women and learn about their lives. For cultural and religious reasons, this wasn't always possible in mixed-gender groups.
'We thought it was a fantastic opportunity to create something that was really special and would incorporate experiences,' Jenny says.
Intrepid expeditions are limited to 12 guests and the average group size is usually eight to 10, while women's ages can range from 20 to 80.
'An incredibly high percentage of the travellers on the women's expedition are travelling solo,' Jenny says.
'Globally that was around 80 per cent last year but for the Australian and New Zealand customers it's 66 per cent of them travelling solo, not necessarily single but choosing to travel alone.'
For context, Jenny says 24 per cent of all Intrepid travellers (on any tour) from Australia and New Zealand are solo female travellers. She has also noticed huge growth in the 50-plus demographic.
'I've seen it described in a lot of reports as women living their second-best life,' she says.
'For whatever reasons they never put themselves first due to career, home and family and now it's their time.'
India is the most popular Intrepid women's expedition with more than 20 departures a year, but Saudi Arabia has taken off since its launch a year ago.
'We've seen more bookings on that particular destination in the first six months of it being on sale than any other trip in the range,' Jenny says.
Jenny says having Intrepid's own teams on the ground helps secure experiences unique to the women's-only expeditions.
'There are a lot of products on the market that are women-only trips, but they are standard itineraries that are just designated for women only. There's not really anything different in the design.
'That's what has set us apart; we wanted to make sure that the experiences we build into the itinerary are unique and special that will give women an opportunity to connect with women on the ground and give women on the ground an opportunity to share their own stories of what life is really like, their triumphs and the challenges.
'Intrepid always tries to support female, minority Indigenous-owned businesses in our supply chain but on these trips, it is intrinsic to the design.'
Jenny cites an example of a city tour in India by tuk-tuk, made possible by supporting micro loans to women to become trained drivers.
'They can then support their families by having their own businesses,' Jenny says.
Sonia Orrego, head of product at Wendy Wu Tours Australia, says solo travellers make up around 30 to 35 per cent of its guests, and many of those are women of all ages, backgrounds and life stages.
'Some are first-time solo travellers, others are seasoned explorers,' Sonia says.
'Many travel solo by choice, while others are seeking new adventures after life changes.
'For those who love the idea of sharing their journey with fellow solo travellers, we've created special tour departures reserved exclusively for solo guests.
'These tours offer a welcoming, community-style experience from the very beginning, because everyone on the trip is there and enjoying the trip as a solo traveller.'
While they aren't women-only, Wendy Wu offers dedicated solo departures to destinations including China, India and Japan.
Sonia says culturally-rich destinations 'continue to resonate with women looking for unique and meaningful travel experiences'.
Sisterhood Womens Travel founder Hayley Morris was running a travel agency in a small Victorian country town when she discovered many rural women wanted to travel but their husbands couldn't leave their farms.
She did a test trip to Hong Kong with a dozen women and noticed the camaraderie, support and encouragement among the group.
'That's when the magic started,' Hayley says. 'I decided that there really was something in it, so I decided to pursue that and eventually it overtook my retail travel agency.'
Sisterhood Womens Travel has been operating for 20 years and ran its first official tour to Morocco, a destination Hayley continues to visit. Future tours range from a mini-break in Tasmania, to a 20-day Greek Islands adventure.
Most guests are aged 60 and over.
'It's more about physicality because you can have a really healthy 80-year-old and have a really unhealthy 50-year-old,' Hayley says.
'Sometimes people get a little bit caught up on the age, whereas we really tend to concentrate more on their fitness.'
The maximum number of guests on a tour is 16, with the average group size around 12.
Sisterhood's hosted tours start and end in Melbourne but guests from all over Australia and New Zealand can connect a group at their destination, where they also pick up specialist guides.
'Basically, the role of our hostess is just to provide the support for our women,' Hayley says.
Sisterhood's guests include widowed women used to travelling with their husbands, and women whose husbands have no interest in travelling.
'We've had feedback from ladies who have tried travelling outside of the women-only environment; they might travel with their sister and brother-in-law,' Hayley says.
'But the feedback is they feel like the third wheel. And unfortunately, single women no matter what age can be targeted by unwanted attention.'
Hayley says her tour prices are higher because they include airfares and many meals and activities. Sisterhood also offers theatre nights, morning teas and winery visits in Melbourne for travellers to keep in touch.
'We are a business and obviously we make money but a lot of it for us is more about the community,' Hayley says. 'We want to bring women together in any capacity to reconnect through the joys of travel and new friendships.'
fact file
intrepidtravel.com/au/womens-expeditions
wendywutours.com.au/solo-tours/
sisterhoodwomenstravel.com.au