The trend of middle-aged women traveling alone is booming.

A generation of middle-aged women is rewriting the definition of old age through the trend of choosing to travel alone. They have money, time and no longer worry about social stereotypes.

The trend of traveling alone is not limited to single women - Photo: QUANG DINH

Behind them, younger generations of women are following in their footsteps, creating a new wave of freedom in the global travel industry.

Freedom has no age

Carin Smith, a 61-year-old journalist in Cape Town, South Africa, still vividly remembers a past rejection. She wanted to sit at a table with a sea view to enjoy dinner in Venice, Italy, but was refused even though the restaurant still had many empty tables.

"They told me privately that the nice tables should be reserved for couples and families, because they make more money. No matter how much I protested, they still wouldn't give me a nice table just because I was alone," she told NBC News.

But that's no longer the case. Today, people like Smith are driving one of the most significant trends in global travel: women traveling alone, especially those over 50.

Nearly 40% of women plan to travel alone by 2025, up 8 percentage points from last year, according to travel market research firm Future Partners.

For many middle-aged women, traveling alone is no longer a last resort but a way to assert independence.

Sharing information with NBC News, luxury travel network Virtuoso said 71% of its solo travelers are women, of whom 47% are divorced, separated or widowed.

"There's a new space emerging that encourages older women to travel, especially those whose partners can't travel with them or have passed away," Renata Haas, North America director of adventure operations for Natural Habitat Adventures, told NBC News.

The company, which partners with the World Wildlife Fund on conservation tourism, has had to increase capacity for its "Women in the Wild" program by 75% over the past year.

Redefining modern tourism

Interestingly, this trend isn’t limited to single women. According to Road Scholar, a nonprofit travel company that serves about 90,000 clients each year, 60% of their solo women are married but still choose to travel alone.

40% of these said they had different travel preferences than their husbands, and a similar proportion said their partners did not like to travel.

This trend is also spreading to younger generations. Forbes magazine cited a report by American Express showing that 76% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) are planning to travel alone.

Notably, 58.3% of Gen Z women expressed their desire to travel abroad alone, with 83% saying they were inspired by their predecessors, historical figures, or social media influencers.

Faced with this wave, travel companies are quickly adjusting their business strategies.

"Until recently, marketers in the industry have overlooked the significant financial resources that many women hold, and their willingness to spend money to create amazing experiences for themselves," Doni Belau, founder of women's travel company Girls' Guide to the World, told NBC News.

One of the most significant changes companies are making is removing the “single occupancy barrier”—a surcharge that solo travelers often pay when staying in hotels or on tours. AmaWaterways, a luxury river cruise line, is eliminating the surcharge on many of its European routes starting in 2024.

Norwegian Cruise Line even added 1,000 staterooms dedicated to solo travelers to its fleet of 19 ships.

"About 15 years ago, only a few companies offered tours specifically for women," said Beth Whitman, CEO of Seattle-based WanderTours. "But now it's much more common for women to leave their families and partners behind to travel with a group of like-minded women."

Great social change

The change in the tourism industry not only reflects business trends, but also shows a major shift in society.

According to the Hilton Group's latest annual report cited by Forbes, after surveying 13,000 travelers from 13 countries, 34% of respondents are eager for a solo trip by the end of 2025.

These changes signal the coming of a new era where women of all ages can confidently explore the world on their own terms.

From passionate Gen Z youngsters to seasoned middle-aged women, they are redefining the meaning of freedom and independence in the new era.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bung-no-xu-huong-phu-nu-trung-nien-di-du-lich-mot-minh-20250118102447263.htm