Solo Women’s Travel is Exploding—And We’re Running to Keep Up

Leigh Barnes, Intrepid Travel’s President of Americas

From backcountry hiking in America to off-the-beaten-path adventures in Morocco, women-led, women-for-women trips are taking off. Intrepid Travel, a world leader in responsible travel and small group adventure tours, plans to not just double down on the solo female traveler market, but center it as the main marketing segment for 2025.

Women’s Expeditions, all-female tours led by a local female leader, grew by 37% globally in 2024. When we launched our newest trip to Saudi Arabia, it filled up so fast we had to add more departures. The 2025 season? Already 72% booked, with 40% of travelers being American solo female explorers.

And this trend isn’t just global—women-only backcountry trekking is blowing up too. Intrepid’s U.S. hiking partner Wildland Trekking is adding 10-new Women’s Adventure trips for 2025 to keep up with demand. New itineraries include the Best of Moab Base Camp Tour, Enchanted Valley Backpacking Trip, and Wild Alaska Coast & Glacier Trek.

To meet demand, 60% of Wildland’s new guide hires in 2024 were women—because when women want to explore, they want to do it with other women leading the way.

Solo Travel? Women Own It.

Forget the outdated idea that women wait for someone else to travel with. 82% of women on our Women’s Expeditions are booking solo—many for their first time. These trips give them the freedom, connection, and confidence to see the world in a way they might not have felt comfortable doing before.

Women love exploring off-the-beaten-track destinations with other like-minded women. These trips give them the confidence to do it.

The Untapped Power of Women 50+

Now, let’s talk about the real decision-makers in travel: women over 50.

We recently teamed up with JourneyWoman, the world’s first solo travel resource for women over 50, to survey 1,600+ women from 50 countries, and the results were eye-opening. In 2022, 70% of women 50+ felt ignored by the travel industry. This year? That number has dropped to 34%—which means progress is happening, but not fast enough.

Boomer women are behind this solo trend. The rise in solo female travel has been fueled by a generational shift. Society has evolved for women to be more independent, adventurous and autonomous than previous generations of women

If the industry isn’t speaking directly to these women, it’s missing out on a $15 trillion market. That’s right—trillion.

Here’s why, according to JourneyWoman’s Survey

Women 50+ make nearly every travel decision in their households.

60% take up to three trips a year.

65% prefer slow travel, longer trips, and small group experiences.

76% are single and planning solo adventures.

This isn’t a demographic to market to as an afterthought—this is the travel industry’s most powerful consumer group.

What Can We All Do?

As industry leaders, here’s how you can make sure this movement keeps growing:

Double down on your social media pages: More than half of these women book trips based on social posts.

Email marketing isn’t dead! They open, read, and book from email newsletters.

78% of women say the single supplement is the #1 barrier to solo travel.

The destination, cost, and the reputation of the company are the most important factors in making group travel decisions.

The Future of Travel is Female—And We’re Just Getting Started

At Intrepid, we’re not just marketing to women—we’re building trips by women, for women, and changing the way the world explores. Whether you are a traveler, a storyteller, or an industry insider, you already know that this isn’t a trend. This is the future of travel.

And we’re here to lead the way.

About Leigh Barnes

Leigh Barnes has recently stepped into a new role as President, The Americas, where he willoversee Intrepid’s expansion into the USA, the company’s fastest growing market. Leigh will manage direct, industry and white label sales as well as operations across North, Central and South America. Previously Chief Purpose Officer and then Chief Customer Officer, he’s been instrumental in building Intrepid’s reputation as a purpose-led, customer-focused organization. Outside of work, Leigh’s an avid supporter of local arts scenes and a keen ocean swimmer – even in the frosty Pacific Northwest where he is based. Leigh’s top Intrepid trip is Everest Base Camp Trek, which he credits for changing the way he sees the world.

About Intrepid Travel

Intrepid Travel has been a world leader in responsible travel for more than 30 years. The company’s mission is to create positive change through the joy of travel, which comes to life on more than 900 trips all designed to truly experience local culture. With its own network of destination management companies in 27 countries, Intrepid has unique local expertise and perspectives. Globally recognized for their commitment to transparency and ethical travel, they became the world’s largest travel company to achieve B-Corp certification in 2018. Intrepid Travel is also the first tour operator with near-term science-based climate targets through the Science Based Targets Initiative, and its not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation, has raised more than $15.5 million for more than 160 partners. For more information download the company’s 2023 Integrated Annual Report and follow Intrepid on Facebook,Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or LinkedIn.