Women take solo travel to new heights
Author Virginia Woolf once wrote “As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.”
Although Woolf died in 1941, her maxim is strong today, with studies showing solo travel by women is booming faster than men.
Boston-based agent Overseas Adventure Travel says almost half the travellers registered with it identify as solo and 85 per cent of those are women.
Tour operator Wild Frontiers of Truckee, Calif., told Newsweek that 65 per cent of its solo travellers are women, with a large segment in their 40s and 50s.
But dangers still exist for female travellers and those who rent their homes through vacation hosting sites. Victoria O’Connell recently told Leisure + Travel how her London flat was robbed by men who rented it even though she met them.
In response, she set up a new accommodation website called Golightly just for women.
“We want women to travel often, stay safely and go lightly,” the company says on its website. “All our properties are owned or managed by women.”
New members must be invited by existing users, like the way LinkedIn works, so everyone can see how they’re connected.
“Inherent accountability that doesn’t exist on other sites” allows members to feel more secure, O’Connell says.
Travellers can apply without a friend’s recommendation, but they have to go through a vetting process that includes an online fraud detection service and contact directly with O’Connell. Although there are only a couple of Canadian listings at the moment, the site offers accommodation at scores of homes around the globe.
As a promotion, O’Connell is waiving the US$100 lifetime membership fee until the end of February.