Women Love To Travel, Men Not So Much

23.02.2024 - 03:53 / forbes.com

A survey by the travel organization Road Scholar (formerly known as Elder Hostel) has revealed that up to 30% of the company's tour participants are solo travelers; and of those solo travelers, 85% are women.

According to Condor Ferries, 64% of travelers worldwide are female, while only 36% are male. The company estimated that $125 billion would be spent by women on travel in 2023.

The average U.S. traveler is a 47-year-old woman. Some 75% of those who take cultural, adventure or nature trips are women, as the groups I saw sloth-spotting in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica confirmed. Despite possible dangers, 86% of women state that they are not afraid to travel. And whether women travel with their partners, their families, friends, solo or in groups, 80% of all travel decisions are made by women.

In a sense, this is not news, but a continuation of a leisure travel trend that’s been happening for years. Women travel, men not so much.

Why the big gender gap in travel? It’s true that women outlive their husband by about six years. U.S. male life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women's 79.1, the widest gap since 1996.

That explains some of the male/female travel gap, but not all of it. Road Scholar compiled data for this study from the 80-100,000 adults over 50 who travel with them each year and found that nearly 70% of their travelers are women. Yet only 58% of Americans 65 and older are women.

Perhaps the most fascinating finding from the Road Scholar study is that at least 60% of the company’s solo travelers in 2022 were married but traveling without their spouse. Why didn’t these women travel with their partners? Some 42% of women surveyed said their spouse isn't interested in traveling, while 40% said they have different interests when it comes to travel.

“Don’t let a silly thing like marriage get in the way of your passion to learn about the world,” said tour participant Barbara W.

"I cherish my time to explore and do what I want on my timetable," says Road Scholar solo traveler Marcia Henderson, 66. "I like to walk, hike, etc. He has knee issues and doesn't share my passion for nature, culture, and history. It would be an atrocity to not travel just because my spouse doesn't like it. This is my passion, and he is supportive as I support his golfing."

Unfortunately, there is much more data available about why women travel, alone or in groups, than about why men don’t. As one would imagine, the travel industry focuses on catering to the enormous pool of enthusiastic female customers, rather on the bashful males.Travel companies dedicated to woman-only clientele have increased by 230%.

So why are men such stick-in-the-muds?

In a 2023 post on Medium, writer Sarah Balaban said,