The 50+ solo female adventure traveller is on the rise according to travel company, Wendy Wu Tours. The Asia holiday specialist has seen a 13% increase in the 50+ solo female traveller in the last three years, compared to a 8% increase amongst males of the same age. Booking trends also reveal that this demographic is increasingly opting for longer and more adventurous tours when compared to their male counterpart.
Currently Wendy Wu Tours reports a sixty to forty female to male ratio amongst its 50+ independent travellers, with the solo traveller making up 18% of its total UK sales. Additionally, 50+ solo female travellers are 15% more likely to opt for longer tours (over 21 days) than those booking in couples.
The operator has seen the 50+ solo female traveller increasingly seeks more adventurous and longer tours. Whilst traditionally this group opted for more classic touring options, in the last year, demand has shifted towards itineraries that offer more free time, more adventurous pursuits and more off-the-beaten-track destinations. For 2016, 28 day tour 'China: The Big One' has been the most popular tour for the 50+ female traveller (selected from Wendy Wu's Discovery programme). Males of the same age however have opted predominantly for 20 day tour 'Magnificent China', a fully-inclusive programme from the main China programme.
One of the biggest growth areas for Wendy Wu Tours is solo female travellers aged between 60 and 72 with bookings up 8% year on year (compared to 5% amongst males of the same age).
Pauline Pink, 68 from Cambridgeshire is one of Wendy Wu Tours' most loyal customers having travelled on nine Wendy Wu Tours itineraries over the past 5 years. Pauline says, “In the last few years, I have travelled with Wendy Wu Tours to Bhutan, China, Mongolia, India and Vietnam and I am now planning my tenth trip to Sri Lanka. I definitely have an adventurous spirit and the itineraries allow you to get under the skin of the destinations and travel with expert local guides who offer real insight into the culture of the destination as well as meeting like-minded travellers, in fact I've become good friends with a number of other solo ladies from my trips.”
Laurence Hicks, Group MD for Wendy Wu Tours says, “In the last few years, we have definitely seen an increasing demand for more adventurous and far-flung tours, particularly amongst our 50+ female age group. We have responded to this demand with a range of new Discovery Tours which allows customers a little more flexibility and free time to immerse into the local cultures, as well as more adventurous activities, such as hiking on a lesser known section of the Great Wall or cycling through the paddy fields of Yangshuo.
For 2016, Wendy Wu Tours predicts that Japan and Tibet will be amongst its hot destinations following growing demand. The operator has recently unveiled a selection of nine new tours in Asia as well as launching its Worldwide Tours brochure with new programmes to Latin America, Africa, Russia, Australasia and Asia.
