Solo female travellers already stand for 14% of female tourism demand

Solo female travellers are a growing and very attractive market; in fact, 14% of women travel without the company of family, friends or a partner, which translates into habits, needs and expectations, as well as specific tourist services and products. Mabrian and The Data Appeal Company-Almawave Group, analysed the female solo traveller demand worldwide* to identify five key factors that outline the profile of this segment.

As Carlos Cendra, Partner and Director of Marketing and Communications at Mabrian, explains, “Women who travel alone reflect a cultural change that emerged before the pandemic and gained momentum with the rise of experiential travel, in which active well-being is at the heart of preferences.” In addition, the data show that, although most female travellers choose summer for their solo plans, June and September are their favourites, “which reflects the potential of this segment during the mid-season,” says Mabrian’s CMO.

This analysis combines a long and short-term overview of female solo travellers. To understand what shapes this segment, Mabrian analysed consolidated data for full year 2023 on the top 10 global source markets for the female solo traveller segment; whereas The Data Appeal examines current trends on women travel solo demand for the current summer season to major European destinations, based on booked flights between June 1 to September 30, 2024.

“Female solo travellers are on the rise”, states Mirko Lalli, CEO & Founder of The Data Appeal Company. Based on GDS booking data, Lalli highlights several key examples, such as Italy. “Since June 2023, Italy has welcomed 1.1% more female solo travellers; a segment that is projected to represent 21.7% of all tourists visiting Italian destinations in the next six months.” The same trend is observed in other European capitals, “as Paris, Amsterdam, and London, also projected to welcome over 30% of female solo travellers in the next six months”

Trend #1: Where are women who travel alone from? Europeans lead the ranking of female solo travellers. According to Mabrian’s data, women who travel alone come mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States and Italy. The top 10 of female solo travellers’ source markets is completed by Spanish, Australian, Brazilian, Polish and Japanese women. Interestingly, as Data Appeal’s insight shows, over 30% of German and British travellers who booked flights to travel this summer are solo female travellers.

Trend #2: What are their favourite destinations? Three out of four female travellers choose domestic destinations. The favourite countries for solo female travellers are Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Japan, Poland, Brazil and Australia. This ranking reflects the weight of domestic travel in the choices of these female travellers: in fact, 75% of female travellers from the 10 main markets for solo female travellers choose domestic destinations, although there are notable differences depending on the country of origin.

When it comes to online reputation and perception, female solo travellers tend to rate high destinations of their preference, but such indexes are lower than average travellers, as The Data Appeal Company’s Sentiment Scores indicates. For example, Germany’s Sentiment Scores is 85 points (out of 100 possible) among average travellers but for women who travel alone, the score is 81, similarly as in Italy (87 vs. 84), Spain (85 vs. 82), United Kingdom (85 vs. 79), and France (84 vs. 79).

As Lalli points out, “female solo travellers’ priorities when choosing a travel destination are behind these slightly lower scores, as such segment’s demand relies on issues such as social perception, cultural factors, or even the availability of accommodation, attractions and experiences that reflect women expectations and needs”.

Trend #3: Safety, a relevant factor for solo female travellers. “For this segment of female travellers, cities are a very complete alternative, because they have a varied and diverse tourist offer, with different price levels, in a cosmopolitan and open environment that they perceive as safe and recognisable,” emphasises Carlos Cendra, from Mabrian.

In fact, as the Mabrian’s Perception of Security Index (PSI) shows, safety is one of the fundamental aspects for choosing a destination: the 10 favourite cities for this segment of female travellers are all perceived as safe destinations, as reflected by their particularly high PSIs, which range from 85 to 98 points out of a possible 100.

Trend #4: Who are the most adventurous? Spaniards, Italians and Japanese. Almost half of Spanish women who travel alone (48%) choose international destinations, as 36% of Italian and 34% of Japanese women do; a consistent trend observed in summer 2024 bookings to Europe, analysed by The Data Appeal Company’s: in fact, around 30% of Spanish travellers flying to British destinations this summer are women travelling alone; similar to Japanese women, who represent 25% of total summer bookings to Italy or United Kingdom.

Conversely, seven out of ten French and Polish women prefer destinations within their own countries when they travel alone; as 77% of British women and 85% of German, American and Australian women do. Only 8% of Brazilian women who travel alone choose international destinations. “Choosing nearby destinations, both domestic and short-haul, is a way of breaking the ice to eventually going for other more distant or exotic places for their next trips,” says Cendra.

Trend #5: Urban destinations are the favourites among female solo travellers. Urban tourism is especially relevant among this segment of travellers. As the data shows, 9 out of the ten cities most visited paces by female solo travellers are European cities, and only Spain features two cities in this ranking, led by London, Paris, Tokyo, and followed by Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Warsaw, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon and Milan.

Among the five most visited countries by female solo travellers (Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, France), the favourite destinations are well-connected cities, which are on the wish list of travellers from all over the world, that also offer a rich combination of travel experiences, especially cultural plans and attractions.