Solo vacations changing way trips are marketed
Tourism industry catering to lone sightseers looking for experiences off beaten path
Not only are more Canadians choosing to live alone these days, but more of us are travelling solo than ever before.
Just as single dwellers are fuelling our condo markets, lone travellers have changed how tour companies are structuring and marketing their travel packages to traditional destinations and places off the beaten path.
AStatistics Canada report issued in August revealed single residents accounted for 28.2 per cent of all households in 2016, outnumbering the long-held dominant living arrangement of mom, pop and the kids, which dropped from 31.5 to 26.5 per cent.
For the first time in our country’s history, more women are living alone — 53.7 per cent — than men. With that shift, not only in Canada but all over the western world, solo sojourning has become a global phenomenon.
AOnePoll survey commissioned by Intrepid Travel found that out of 1,000 Canadian travellers polled, 41 per cent said they’ve vacationed alone, and 71 per cent felt solo travel has gone mainstream.
As the world’s largest adventure travel company, started in 1988 by two Australian pals inspired by their own African travel adventure, Intrepid guides about 150,000 travellers annually on 1,000 different tours to more than 100 countries.
Seeing a 24-per-cent jump in solo travel demand this year, it has launched a variety of solo-only, small group tours to Bali, India, Mexico, Morocco, Peru and Vietnam.
“Solo travel now accounts for about half of our tour packages,” says Leigh Barnes, Intrepid’s North American regional director based in Toronto. “It’s one of the fastest-growing markets in the travel industry.”
About three-quarters of Canadian polled said safety was a concern, but that worry was far outweighed by the benefits of going it alone. Those surveyed counted the top-three benefits of solo travel as meeting the challenge to try new things (55 per cent), visiting a bucket-list destination (51per cent) and making new friends around the world (47 per cent).
And the main reasons people said they like to travel alone are that it’s more relaxing (45 per cent), an easier learning experience (38 per cent), and because friends or partners aren’t able to take the same time to travel (29 per cent).
On the issue of security, while 44 per cent felt comfortable travelling alone, three-quarters of those polled said they would feel safer travelling solo with a tour group accompanied by experienced local guides.
“More people want to travel without being held back by the traditional restraints,” Barnes says.
“Tours and cruises that cater to two people often leave solo travellers feeling shunned, whereas solo tours are more inclusive.
“Intrepid tour groups typically number 10 to 15 people, which would include some couples, solo travellers and small groups of friends.”
Intrepid’s solo-only tours are just that, a small tour group made up of individuals from their 20s to 60s from a broad range of countries, with the option of paying a supplemental fee for a single room or bunking in same-gender lodgings and having flexibility in doing some things with group members or solo.
There’s an itinerary but also time for exploration, dining and nightlife on one’s own.
Each tour has a leader from the area with personal knowledge, local connections and advice to address everyone’s safety concerns, day and night.
“It’s very important to have expertise and a local network on the ground, which ensures security and the quality of the product,” Barnes adds.
While Intrepid may be the major provider of solo adventure travel tours, other travel operators in Canada with solo resort and excursion packages include: CAA/AMA Travel’s Go Solo Vacations; TransatTours Solo Collection; and Sunwing Solo Travel Deals.
And a great online source of reference and reviews from people who know all about exploring the world on their own is the Solo Travel Society Facebook page, where information, ideas and advice is shared by like-minded travellers and those contemplating going solo. hstancu@thestar.ca