Travel Weekly, September, 2016
Soon after the Boston Globe article ran (featured in last post), Travel Weekly, a leading travel industry news and information source, ran Women are doing it for themselves when it comes to touring. The article features tour operators and travel agents describing what set their women-only travel experiences apart from general group tours. In other words, they’re describing what makes them “a thing.”
According to AdventureWomen founder, Susan Eckert:
Who goes on a women’s tour? Eckert’s trips are limited to age 30 and older, and she said her clients are mostly in their late 50s or early 60s. Seventy percent are repeat customers, the majority are or have been married, many have kids and most have worked. “Oftentimes, their kids are finally out of school or out of college, and they say to their husband, ‘Hey, honey, I want to go to Africa.’ And he says, ‘Africa? I don’t want to go to Africa.’ So they start looking on the internet,” Eckert said.
Janet Scalzo, owner of another adverture travel tour operator for women, Canyon Calling, reported:
…that 80% of her guests travel solo.
“They’re empty-nesters,” she said. “They’re either divorced, widowed or unpartnered.”They might not have someone to travel with, but they still want to go somewhere new and have an adventure without feeling unsafe in an unfamiliar part of the world or worrying about being the odd woman out on a tour full of couples.”
“Guests can try a new activity, like whitewater rafting, for example, in a safe setting, and when they meet the challenge — and they do — it’s growth,” she said. On a recent Canyon Calling trip, a two-hour hike ended up taking four, but everyone made it to the top. “It was awesome, and there were tears,” Scalzo said. “You couldn’t do that with a bunch of dudes, and I say that lovingly.”
Travel Weekly highlighted agents specializing in women’s travel but not exclusive to adventure:
A Girl’s Gotta Go focuses on women’s travel as well as honeymoons and destination weddings. Co-president Tracy Oliphant said she sees a strong demand for women-only travel, whether it’s group trips or semi- or fully escorted tours.
Middleton Travel president and CEO Mary Miller started offering partially escorted Girls Getaways in 2001 and said the company has taken more than 1,300 women on ladies-only trips over the last 15 years.
Marcia Miller, founder of You Go Girls Travel said her all-female departures are more group-focused and inclusive… “I think there’s a little bit of a sisterhood between women,” she said. “If they’re on the bus for a long bus ride… We can kind of be uncorked a little bit.”
Yes, women traveling together is a phenomenon, a “thing.” And yet, there’s still a lot of friction on the consumer side of the digital experience discovering, planning and booking these trips. Illustrations to come tomorrow on the frustrations of searching the web for these suppliers and others.
I’m three posts in, getting my arms around the market and the travel suppliers in it. I’ll continue to unearth third party sources and look forward to speaking with those on the front lines about their pain points connecting to customers. What’s working? What isn’t? And more.
If you’re interested in reading the entire Travel Weekly article, click here.
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