According to statistics, nearly 65% of solo travellers are female, who are between the ages of 30 and 80.
By Shalini Raj
In a world where women are often told what they can and can’t do, travelling becomes an ever-changing avenue for breaking stereotypes in all walks of the globe. With the inclusion of women in the travel sphere in recent decades, their role in society has been changing, empowering women over their own lives. From businesswomen to homemakers, women are globe-trotting, exploring quaint villages to large cities and steep mountains to deep oceans, perfectly embarking the journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
Travelling as a woman is popular amongst a variety of different ages, both solo and within groups to destinations all over the world. According to Intrepid Travel, 63% of travellers were female (this is on par with the global figure of 64%). Statistics also shows that 86% of women believe that they are not afraid to travel regardless of what is going on in the world today and 73% of women feel that travel has made them stronger and empowered.
Solo female travel just keeps getting hotter
When we are talking about women and travel, it is mandatory to include solo travel as the number of female travellers opting for this soul-searching option is growing. It lets you conquer your fear and give life-changing experiences. Travel companies are seeing a significant uptick in interest from solo female travellers. According to statistics, nearly 65% of solo travellers are female, who are between the ages of 30 and 80, and these women prefer solo adventures for any number of realistic reasons. Through solo travelling, women not only learn about the people, culture, architecture and history of foreign places but also learn about themselves.
So whether it’s a solo trip or a girls’ getaway, travel will empower every woman to become independent and liberated. Here’s how:
Community Travel Empowerment
In addition to business, leisure and solo travel, women are also taking more meaningful trips. Such travel offers them a chance to interact with women and female-focused organizations worldwide. It also allows women to empower both themselves and other women in their journeys. Community-based and sustainable travel tourism provides opportunities for women in rural-patriarchal societies to flourish, become economically independent, thus proving to be a game-changer for gender equality.
Challenging Adventure Trips
An escape route from the regular mundane grind is also booming a chance for women to challenge themselves physically – be it climbing a mountain, heli-skiing or white water rafting down a wild river. It can give you a jerk to challenge your own thought process and also helps to empower you by awakening your adrenaline rush and conquer your fear and anxieties. It also gives a chance to truly discover the strong, original, and powerful woman who resides within us all.
The Buzz of Female Bloggers
Travelling can also be an amazing way to earn bread and butter. It offers an opportunity for countless female travel bloggers to spin their passion for travel into a lucrative business as they share their experiences, tips and seasoned insight with fellow travel-loving followers. Not only do blogs offer a powerful platform for a woman’s voice to be heard, but working for yourself means more flexibility to manage other life responsibilities once strollers and diapers become household staples.
Dive Inside to Know The Real YOU
There isn’t anything more empowering than to truly know oneself. It can be a long and toilsome task, but travel makes you be comfortable in your own skin, in places beyond your comfort zones. You can truly open yourself up to lasting friendships and loving relationships and can even dream and grab opportunities. Knowing yourself and embracing every little thing that makes you, you — your quirks, your femininity, your strengths and flaws, your preferences, your daily rituals — is an integral part of creating memorable life experiences.
Be Your Own Decision Maker
Travelling by yourself will allow women to see the world from a different perspective. No one else will be there in an attempt to shape your opinion or view on something. Moreover, that’s super cool. You just need to follow your gut with every next thing that comes your way. What’s important is you learn to decide for yourself, and that you become accountable for your own actions. It perfectly makes sense: when we travel, we make things happen, but also, we take complete responsibility for the things that we let happen. There may be too many choices, too many decisions to be had. But, slowly, you will make certain decisions with ease and confidence.
To all the women out there, learn to foster self-love — the kind of love that lets you become who you can and want to be. Just live by what Maya Angelou said loud and proud: “I’m a woman, phenomenally. Phenomenal women, that’s me.”
(The author is the Founder of Journey Weavers. Views expressed in the article are personal.)