Featured image: Women over 50 are leading the second female travel revolution / Photo via Envato by halfpoint
News release: Women over 50 driving more purposeful, intentional and sustainable travel
March 8, 2024 — In celebration of its 30th Anniversary, International Women’s Day 2024 and Women’s History Month, JourneyWoman has expanded its Women’s Travel Directory, Women’s Speaker’s Bureau and launched the JourneyWoman Awards for Women Over 50. Established in 1994, JourneyWoman is the world’s first website for women’s solo travel, created by Canadian Evelyn Hannon. Today, JourneyWoman ranks among the world’s top websites for travel, with the world’s only and largest Women’s Travel Directory to help women plan their travels, including tours, safe places to stay, retreats and small ships.
“In the first female travel revolution in the 1990s, Evelyn inspired generations of women — single, divorced, widowed or married — to travel independently,” says Carolyn Ray, CEO, JourneyWoman. “Now, we are seeing the second female travel revolution, as women over 50 come into affluence and financial empowerment. These women want to travel with purpose and intention and are seeking companies that are aligned with their values and beliefs. I’m honoured that so many women-owned businesses have partnered with us to bring their vision to life, and that we can provide a way for women over 50 to connect with like-minded travellers through our Women’s Travel Directory, Speaker’s Bureau, Awards, social platforms and award-winning editorial team.”
Helping Women Over 50 Realize their Travel Aspirations for International Women’s Day 2024
JourneyWoman Women’s Travel Directory
From women-owned and led companies offering curated trips from adventure travel to safaris to small ship and train experiences.
For International Women’s Day, from March 8-31, JourneyWoman is offering special discounts for small businesses, including US$30 off an Emerging annual membership and 15% off a Growth annual membership. All companies must undergo a verification process. To learn more visit our Partnership page here.
To date in 2024, new partners include Collette Travel, Avalon Waterways, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Hurtigruten Norway, Sisterhood Travels, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), Le Monastére des Augustines, Aurora Expeditions, Brendan Vacations, and Canada Rail Travel.
Vetted through a rigorous verification process, these companies join existing partners collaborating with JourneyWoman to bring readers unique women-friendly experiences, safe places to stay and exclusive deals and discounts on travel for solo women. Selected Directory partners include Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Wild Women Expeditions, Girls’ Guide to the World, Intrepid Travel, Swan Hellenic, European Experiences, Adventures in Good Company, AccessibleGO, and Wheel the World.
To see the full list of Directory partners, click here.
Accessible travel company AccessibleGO is one of our founding partners in the Women’s Travel Directory / Photo credit AccessibleGO
JourneyWoman Awards
To honour Hannon and three decades of advocacy for women’s solo travel, JourneyWoman CEO Carolyn Ray announced the JourneyWoman Awards in February 2024, which celebrate the wisdom and influence of women over 50 in travel.
The JourneyWoman Evelyn Hannon Solo Travel Award will be given out on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. The program includes three other awards recognizing solo travellers over 50, women entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders, with nominations due by April 15, 2024. Nominate a woman over 50 here.
The iconic Evelyn Hannon, who inspired female solo travellers to follow their heart / Photo credit Evelyn Hannon
Women’s Speaker’s Bureau
The JourneyWoman Women’s Travel Speaker’s Bureau elevates the voices of women, while providing organizations with women over 50 as role models for others.
Its more than 30 members include award-winning visual storyteller Lola Akinmade Akerstrom, Indigenous leader Brenda Holder, regenerative tourism pioneer Anna Pollock Tanzila Khan, accessible solo travel activist, women’s safety and LGBTQ+ advocate Tracey Breeden, and Stephanie Jones, CEO, Blacks in Travel and Tourism. Women can apply to join here.
Regenerative tourism pioneer Anna Pollock is just one of the women featured in the Women’s Speaker’s Bureau / Photo credit Anna Pollock
About Women over 50 in Travel
Women are the primary travel decision makers in travel, making 80-85% of all travel decisions. Women 50+ represent over $15 trillion in purchasing power and are experiencing the largest population growth over the next 10 years. JourneyWoman’s study, “The Influence and Affluence of Solo Women 50+ in Travel”, published in December 2022, showed that 70% of women over 50 felt ignored and undervalued by the travel industry, despite representing trillions in spending power.
About JourneyWoman
Founded in 1994, JourneyWoman™ is the world’s first solo female travel resource and one of the most trusted women’s travel brands in the world. JourneyWoman hosts the world’s largest Women’s Travel Directory as a free service to women, providing hundreds of curated and vetted women-friendly tours, retreats, small ships and safe places to stay while supporting small tourism businesses around the world. To elevate women’s voices, the award-winning Soul of Travel Podcast joined JourneyWoman in 2023. JourneyWoman also launched the travel industry’s first Women’s Speaker’s Bureau to share wisdom from women over 50 and accelerate diversity. To learn more, visit Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. JourneyWoman is a registered trademark of Journeywoman Enterprises Inc.
More on Women Over 50 in Travel
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When Michele McCarthy was widowed, she turned to solo travel as a way to reinvent herself as a cheetah crusader in Kenya.
What My Epic Road Trip Across Southern Africa Taught Me
A road trip across the wilds of Southern Africa helps draw attention to the small things that might have been taken for granted in the past.
New Annual JourneyWoman Travel Awards Honour the Wisdom, Purpose and Innovation of Women Over 50
For our 30th anniversary, JourneyWoman is announcing four new awards for women over 50, including the Evelyn Hannon Solo Travel Award. Nominate a solo traveller or entrepreneur by April 30, 2024.
JourneyWoman Staff
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