Road Scholar, a popular travel company known as one of the best senior tour companies, recently released a report based on responses from 600 senior solo female travelers. why? That's because more and more women are traveling alone, especially as part of group tours. According to reports, up to 30% of the company's tour participants are solo travelers. And of those solo travelers, 85% are women.
Women tend to live six years longer than their male partners, but the story of why women are traveling solo is much more complex (and interesting) than the difference in life expectancy. Of the 600 female solo travelers surveyed, 60% of the 2022 Road Scholar solo travelers were married and said they traveled alone because they had no one else to travel with in their lives. Only 6% did.
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So why are senior women traveling alone with partners on the rise? Many people say that their spouse is not interested in traveling or does not want to go to the same destinations. Some said their partners were physically unable to travel. “Don't let something stupid like marriage get in the way of your passion to see the world,” tour participant Barbara W. Kennedy said.
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For some, solo travel is either a necessity or a preference, but many of the women surveyed went into more detail about why they actually love solo travel. 26% said traveling alone is because it's easier to make new friends.
Independence was also a big factor.
- 22% say they enjoy autonomy
- 15% said they liked being able to choose their destination
- 6% say they appreciate not having to adapt to someone else's schedule
Guided tours offer structure, access, and built-in community, so it's no surprise that multi-day guided tours are a great fit for the growing number of senior women traveling alone.
As someone who is always looking for ideas for traveling as a solo traveler as well as family trips with kids and spouse, I'm really happy to see solo travel on the rise, especially among women. I think of the older women in my life and wish this for them. It's a chance for them to continue their adventures and choose where they want to go.
Although this is not true for all women, women tend to give priority to their partners, children, and work when they are young. Traveling solo as a senior woman can feel like a great sense of balance and a way to regain interest, independence, and a sense of adventure.
Reasons why older women are increasingly traveling alone originally appearedtourscoop.com.
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY. FamilyVacationist.com and TourScoop.com are owned and operated by Vacationist Media LLC. Use FamilyVacationist's travel recommendation methodology to explore and select family vacation ideas, family vacation spots, all-inclusive family resorts, and classic family vacations for all ages. TourScoop covers guided group tours and tour operators, tour operator reviews, tour itinerary reviews, and travel equipment recommendations.
