The way women are exploring our world is empowering it. They take female-only holidays with female travellers they have never met to build relationships, and prioritise travel that strengthens communities and local economies.
Most travel statistics and trends will tell you one thing: the future of travel is female. Survey data shared by the Travel Leaders Group from 2019 showed that women-only journeys were one of the most requested niches.
To encourage more women to seek life-enriching adventures, tour operators are also looking to craft itineraries, and in-depth cultural experiences that offer impactful ways to discover new destinations with just one rule: no men allowed.
So what is encouraging more women to choose tours and vacations just for them? Well for starters, it seems to really go where no man has gone before, you need to look into women-only holidays for experiential travel.
Why are women choosing experiential vacations?
Experiential vacations are a way to immerse yourself through the meaningful discovery of a country’s culture, history and community. While experiential travel is not a new thing, women are upping the ante with their passion for a different version. This applies to the entire experience. Women want to travel with an all-female crew (including guides and tours) and engage in activities and excursions in the given destination that enable them to experience the culture of other women and share in it.
What makes these women’s vacations unique is you go where no man has before
In many parts of the world — for cultural reasons — men have no access to specific experiences because it just wouldn’t be appropriate or permissible for them to be there. The beauty of a women-only vacation with female tour leaders and guides and other female travellers is that unencumbered by a mixed-gender group there is access to more cultural exchanges. Research shows that female globetrotters crave a more profound connection or local experience while travelling – and the intimate nature of the possibilities available on these trips are a significant draw for them.
Take Intrepid Travel, for example. Their tours for women harness these cultural experiences in an attempt to overcome barriers. One of their Women’s Expeditions goes to Iran and enables female travellers to discover the intimate (and often hidden) world of Iranian women. On this on itinerary female-travellers can do meaningful local activities like walking through a female-only park, travelling on local buses and overnight trains in the female-only carriage, and visiting an Iranian beauty salon.
In many Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, salons are a space for women only. As with hammams and baths, the salon has cultural significance within society, and it’s where women go not only to unwind but — through their own experiences — converse about cultural affairs, the political climate as well as exchange stories and beauty tips. This intimate and valuable cultural exchange is something that could easily be overlooked on a regular itinerary, but female-only holidays offer tour operators a chance to be more creative and to dig deeper for authentic experiences.
Sisterhood of the travelling…
Do one search for women’s travel groups on Facebook, and you will find hundreds of them. These social pages are a hub for the global female travel community to seek advice, find people to travel with, make requests, look for tips on trip itineraries, and share all kinds of information.
The one thing all of these pages do is organically encourage sisterhood among casual, business and solo travellers as well as digital nomads. This sisterhood and the prospect of making lifelong friends is one of the main reasons that more women are choosing female-only holidays.
The other thing to remember is that this sisterhood is not just limited to fellow female travellers. Unhindered by the presence of males, local women from conservative societies are also able to let their hair down (quite literally in some cultures) when surrounded by the same gender. This allows female travellers to connect with local women in a very personal way, and in some cases, build relationships that span the world.
Tours for women that impact the world in a positive way
Earlier this year for International Women’s Day 2019, Days to Come explored female travel themes, our research uncovered that they don’t simply choose tours for women so they can get away with the girls, it goes way beyond that.
The latest trends in female travel show they are pushing for transformative journeys that encourage balance for themselves and others. While visiting a destination, they want to embrace experiences, ideas, and philosophies. Further to that, they want to travel in a way that creates more opportunities for other women and impacts the world positively.
To encourage female travellers to pursue their desire for adventure off-the-beaten-path and to help countries dealing with overtourism, tour operators are looking to develop alternative itineraries. They are looking to create experiences for women in relatively undiscovered destinations like Jordan, Georgia or the Balkans.
To align further with their female-only market, tour operators are creating experiences in destinations that prioritise sustainability and empowering women. Their first port of call is to support local women by hiring female guides. In some countries where this is an unusual career choice, female tour guides are breaking ground by challenging societal norms and gender stereotypes within the travel industry. For example, take the female Sherpas who are blazing a trail by taking the world’s greatest summits by storm as mountain guides.
Another way tour operators are seeking to empower local women and put the focus on them is by collaborating and working with female-owned businesses and co-operatives. This means that money from tourism goes straight into the local economy and strengthens the community.
Who are these female-only holidays for?
For all women! Tour operators report that women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s are booking themselves on to these all-female holidays. It’s not just for singles either, women in relationships and mothers with young or grown children are also choosing this option as a way to travel.
The reasons vary. For some, it’s about taking out time for themselves, others go to celebrate a milestone in their lives, while for some women it’s about pushing themselves to experience something new like hiking and trekking, but they all share a desire to travel with other women.
Of course, it’s possible to travel with a group of girlfriends and experience all of the above, but life can get in the way, and trying to plan a trip with everyone’s commitments can prove tricky. Women don’t want to hold back, and while solo female travel is a viable option, they also want to share their magic travel moments with someone and don’t necessarily relish the thought of eating dinner by themselves every night. For some women, the appeal of travelling with people they have never met before opens up the door to discover themselves in a way they might not be able to around people they’ve known for a while.
Are you interested in taking an all-female trip? Discover the joy of travelling with women by looking up solo tours on TourRadar.
