Go your own way: women are driving solo travel and adventure bookings
Forget family, friends and even partners. According to American Express Travel’s 2024 Global Travel Trends Report, the most popular new travel companion for many intrepid travellers this year is me, myself, and I. Tracking the trends, over half of Canadians – 54 per cent – plan on travelling solo this year and beyond.
“I do think solo travel is on the rise. I’m finding that there are more people out there not wanting to wait for others to travel,” explains travel advisor Jen Albert with Envoyage in Coquitlam, B.C., who has witnessed an increase in demand for solo travel trips. “They have had a dream destination or a type of trip in mind for so long and have decided to just go for it and not let anyone hold them back.”
Some of her recent solo travel client bookings include an Exodus tour hiking the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria and an Australia adventure with a stopover in Paris on the way there and in Athens on the way back.
“The third is a client who has never travelled outside of Canada on her own and wanted to experience Iceland,” Albert noted. “We found a G Adventures itinerary that was exactly what she wanted and with the group tour, she knows she will be with like-minded people and make the trip not so intimidating for her first solo adventure.”
Interestingly, adventure travel and solo travel is largely being driven by women. Virtuoso’s recent Luxury Travel Trend Watch: 2025 trends report with forecasting agency Globetrender showcases that females now make up 71 per cent of solo travellers. The data predicts that there will be a rise of independent travel among women, with more women of all ages opting for solo, adventurous trips.
In fact, David Green, managing director for Canada at G Adventures, said the tour operator is coming off a record-breaking year in the company’s 35-year-old history, with the majority of travellers on solo trips being female.
“G Adventures has always been very popular with solo travellers who are drawn to the social, security and experience of our small-group adventures. Globally, over 50 per cent of our travellers are solo travellers, and G Adventures does not include solo supplements on any trips, believing that solo travel should be celebrated, not penalized. Our youth travel style (18-to-Thirtysomethings) is very popular with younger solo travellers, who are attracted to the fun, social side of the small-group tour,” he shared. “We see a high proportion of female solo travellers – over 60 per cent of our solo travel bookings are female. The group dynamic offered by G Adventures gives female solo travellers the confidence to travel to new destinations that they may have been nervous to visit independently.”
Other research by Condor Ferries shows that 64 per cent of all travellers worldwide are women and 84 per cent of these travellers are going it alone. According to data from the Adventure Travel Trade Association, women also make up over half of the bookings with adventure travel companies.
While solo travel is on the rise, many Canadians are opting to go with a tour operator not only for security but also for ease of travel. Recent data from the Solo Female Traveler’s Club found that 76 per cent of women who have never travelled solo before would be more likely to do so on a group tour. Meg Murgatroyd, head of trade sales, North America at Just You, works for a tour operator who specializes entirely in guided holidays for solo travellers.
“The 55+ crowd is really getting into solo travel, making up nearly 37 per cent of travellers recently. They’re not just travelling, they’re willing to splurge, with many over 55 ready to spend over $3,000 on their trips. This shows they’re looking for top-notch, fulfilling travel experiences,” Murgatroyd told Travel Courier. “Our company crafts solo travel experiences that are safe, culturally rich, and perfect for personal growth—all things that appeal to older travellers. Just You tours provide the freedom solo travellers love along with the structure to keep things smooth and social. For travel agents, suggesting Just You to the 55+ clients is a smart move. These tours answer older adults’ needs for adventurous yet secure solo travel options, giving them both independence and comfort on their journeys.”
To cater to the growing demand for solo travel, G Adventures even launched a new travel style catering to this segment of the market with the tagline travel for yourself, not by yourself.
“We launched Solo-ish in October, recognizing that solo travel was a growing trend across the travel industry. We wanted to create our first collection dedicated exclusively to solo travellers, to better service our existing travellers but also to help new solo travellers to feel comfortable booking a group trip, knowing they would be among like-minded solo travellers,” Green said. “Solo-ish has been carefully designed to offer USPs, developed specifically for solo travellers. These include female-only Chief Experience Officers, 50% off My Own Room, arrival transfers on every trip and itineraries which have been ‘front loaded’ with the first three days including experiences to drive connection among the group and to help friendships flourish.”
Additional features include dedicated ‘Me Days’ to allow solo travellers the time and space to explore in their own way. Solo-ish Adventures launched with 25 trips to destinations like Guatemala/Belize, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Morocco, Turkey, Jordan, India, South Africa and Vietnam. The travel style has been incredibly successful in the Canadian market.
“Canada is our second biggest booking region for Solo-ish and we are seeing an older demographic of traveller booking onto these trips (with the average traveller being in their early 50s),” Green added.
When the new tours were announced, Yves Marceau, VP of product at G Adventures, said solo travel has gathered huge momentum in recent years.
“The barrier to travel for a lot of solo people was the fear of being bored or alone, surrounded by other couples as a third wheel, or a general fear of travelling solo in a new and unfamiliar location,” said Marceau. “Traveller mindsets are changing, however. We’ve seen a rise in the more mature traveller, who is no longer willing to wait for a partner, friends or family to book an adventure. Whether it’s a life-changing event, a desire for something new, or just an itch to go out and experience the world, solo travellers are one of the fastest growing demographics in the travel industry.”
It’s also worth pointing out that solo travellers are not necessarily single.
“Approximately 20% of the Just You travellers have partners that have chosen not to travel with them for various reasons. Just You tours are not just for singles, they are for solo travellers,” noted Murgatroyd. “The male/female mix on a Just You tour varies and can depend on the destination. It is likely that on most European departures, the split will be around 75% female and 25% male, but this is just a guide.”
Data from a Road Scholar study found that at least 60% of the company’s solo travellers were married but travelling without their spouse. As for why they were travelling without their partners, some of the reasons were that their spouses weren’t interested in travelling and that they have different interests when it comes to travelling.
“We realize there’s a whole spectrum of reasons why people want to travel alone,” G Adventures’ founder Bruce Poon Tip explained. “Our research was showing that a lot of people have partners who don’t like travelling, but they want to travel in a group for security.”
According to Virtuoso, nearly half of its female solo travellers are divorced, separated or widowed, highlighting a surge in post-partner or family-raising travel.
Meanwhile, Yvette Crossley, a travel and group specialist with Personal Travel Management in Burnaby, B.C., believes that women over 50 travelling solo or with a friend is the largest shift happening in travel and that divorce is one of the key factors driving this trend.
“In July 2022, I escorted a group of ladies on a G Adventures multi-sport trip to Peru where we hiked the Inca Trail, cycled in the Sacred valley and kayaked on Lake Titicaca. Two of us are married but our husbands didn’t want to do the trip and the others were single. Before going to Peru, I needed to update some of my immunizations and went to a local travel clinic,” she recalled. “The nurse I spoke with had recently separated from her husband and was quite broken-hearted. She had planned on doing a lot of travelling with her husband as she was getting close to retiring and thought that travelling was no longer possible. I let her know there are so many possibilities for her. While I have been organizing and escorting textile & artisan focused tours since 2016, it was my discussion with this nurse that sparked a desire to educate people about all the opportunities available for solo travellers.”
