Thursday, July 18, 2024
reading time: 4 minutes
Solo female travelers are a growing market, with unique needs and preferences. Discover key trends, favorite destinations, and the importance of safety for this segment.
Solo female travellers represent a rapidly expanding and highly attractive market segment. Remarkably, 14% of women choose to travel independently, without family, friends or partners. This trend reflects unique behaviours, needs and expectations, requiring specialised tourism services and products. In analysing the global demand for solo travel, Maprian and Data Appeal Group-Almawave identified five key characteristics that define this group.
As Carlos Sendra, Partner and Director of Marketing and Communications at Maprian, explains, “Women traveling solo reflect a cultural shift that was evident before the pandemic and has gained momentum with the rise of experiential travel, where active well-being is at the heart of preferences.” Additionally, the data shows that while most female travelers choose summer for their solo plans, June and September are their favorites, “which reflects the potential of this segment during the mid-season,” says Mabrian. Chief Marketing Officer.
This analysis provides a long-term and short-term perspective on female solo travelers. To understand what is affecting this sector, Maprian analyzed comprehensive data from the full year of 2023, focusing on the top 10 global source markets for female solo travelers. Meanwhile, Data Appeal Company examined current trends in demand for female solo travel for the current summer season, with a particular focus on key European destinations. This analysis is based on flight bookings made between June 1 and September 30, 2024.
““The number of solo female travelers is increasing,” says Mirko Lalli, CEO and founder of Data Appeal Company. Based on booking data from the Global Distribution System, Lalli highlights several key examples, such as Italy. “Since June 2023, Italy has welcomed 1.1% of solo female travellers; a segment that is expected to represent 21.7% of all tourists visiting Italian destinations in the next six months.” The same trend is observed in other European capitals, “with Paris, Amsterdam and London also expected to welcome more than 30% of solo female travellers in the next six months.”
Trend 1: Where do solo women travelers come from?
European women dominate the solo female travel rankings. According to Maprian data, the majority of solo female travelers are from Germany, the UK, France, the US and Italy. The top 10 markets also include Spain, Australia, Brazil, Poland and Japan. Notably, DataApple insights reveal that more than 30% of German and British travelers who booked flights this summer are solo female travelers.
Trend 2: What are their favorite destinations?
Three out of four solo female travellers choose domestic destinations. The most popular countries for solo female travellers include Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, France, the US, Japan, Poland, Brazil and Australia. This trend underscores the preference for domestic travel, with 75% of female travellers from the top 10 markets choosing to stay within their home country. However, preferences vary significantly by country of origin.
When it comes to reputation and online perception, solo female travelers generally rate their favorite destinations highly, though their scores are slightly lower than those of regular travelers. Data Appeal Company’s sentiment scores point in this direction: Germany, for example, scores 85 out of 100 among regular travelers but drops to 81 for solo female travelers. Similarly, Italy scores 87 versus 84, Spain 85 versus 82, the UK 85 versus 79, and France 84 versus 79.
As Lali points out, “The priorities of solo female travelers when choosing a travel destination are behind these slightly lower results, as the demand of this segment depends on issues such as social perception, cultural factors, or even the availability of accommodations, attractions and experiences that reflect women’s expectations and needs.”
Trend 3: Safety, a key factor for solo female travelers
“For this segment of female travelers, cities are a very complete alternative, because they offer a diverse and varied tourism offer, with different price levels, in a cosmopolitan and open environment that they consider safe and well-known,” confirms Carlos Sendra of Maprian.
Safety is a critical factor for solo female travelers. According to Maprian’s Perception of Security Index (PSI), safety significantly influences destination selection. The top 10 cities for this category are considered very safe, with PSI scores ranging from 85 to 98 out of a possible 100. This high level of perceived safety is a key aspect of travel decisions.
Trend #4: Who is the most adventurous?
Spanish, Italian and Japanese women top the list of solo travel destinations. Almost half of Spanish solo female travellers (48%) choose destinations abroad, followed by 36% of Italians and 34% of Japanese. This trend is reflected in summer 2024 bookings to Europe, as analysed by The Data Appeal Company. Around 30% of Spanish travellers travelling to the UK this summer are solo female travellers. Similarly, Japanese women account for 25% of all summer bookings to Italy or the UK.
Conversely, seven out of ten French and Polish women prefer destinations within their own countries when traveling alone; as do 77% of British women and 85% of German, American and Australian women. Only 8% of Brazilian solo women choose international destinations. “Choosing destinations close by, whether domestic or short-term, is a way to break the ice and eventually go to more distant or exotic places for their next trip,” says Sendra.
Trend 5: Urban destinations are preferred by solo female travelers
Urban tourism has a special appeal for solo female travelers. According to the data, 9 of the top 10 cities visited by solo female travelers are in Europe, with Spain accounting for two of the cities in this ranking. The top cities include London, Paris and Tokyo, followed by Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Warsaw, Barcelona, Lisbon and Milan.
In the top five countries visited by solo female travelers (Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and France), well-connected cities are the preferred destinations. Popular with travelers around the world, these cities offer a rich mix of travel experiences, especially cultural attractions and activities, making them highly desirable for solo female travelers.
