Featured image: The women 50+ travel market is set to more than double by 2035, according to new research from JourneyWoman | Photo by thanyapatm on Envato
An invitation to the travel industry to adapt to a growing and underserved market
by JourneyWoman staff
On June 5, JourneyWoman CEO Carolyn Ray and Intrepid North America President Leigh Barnes joined Skift’s Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit and Head of Research Seth Borko on The Skift Travel Podcast to talk about the enormous growth in solo travel with women over 50. Skift is a leading news source for travel executives, monitoring the ever-evolving transformation into the future of travel, founded in 2012 by Rafat Ali and Jason Clampet. The name Skift, which means “shift” or “transformation” in Nordic languages, was chosen by Ali and Clampet to highlight the ongoing changes in the future of travel.
This interview focused on JourneyWoman’s study on the women 50+ travel market — “Invisible No More: The Ageless Adventuress”, which was launched in March 2025. The research was supported by Intrepid Travel, as well as Collette Travel and Aurora Expeditions, and provides credible data on the women over 50 travel market for the first time. Over 1600 women participated in the research, which was fielded globally.
During the interview, Ray shared some of the research findings, which show that the women 50+ market, inclusive of solo travel, is growing from US$249B to $519B by 2035, almost equal to the total millennial marketplace.
“It’s my hope that this data provides the travel industry with insights to adapt and change to meet the needs of this growing market,” Ray says. “I’m thrilled that the Skift Travel Podcast invited us to have such an open and candid discussion about transformation at a time when women over 50 feel seen, but not fully understood by the travel industry.”
In the interview, Ray noted that women 50+ make a whopping 98% of all travel decisions and are not a homogenous demographic.
“Our study uses data gleaned from our research to provide complete personas for the female traveller up to age 90. The needs and perspectives of an older woman today are vastly different from how many of might think of previous generations,” she says. “Women are living longer, are more active, healthy and affluent than ever before.”
When it comes to barriers to solo travel, JourneyWoman’s research shows 78% of women view the extra single supplement cost as the #1 deterrent.
“To travel affordably on a group tour or cruise, many solo women must pay up to double to have their own room, despite living independently,” Ray says. “In North America, only 24% of women 50+ say they are married – so why are we still using an outdated double occupancy model for pricing? Companies need to rethink this model to better support solo female travellers and get more creative about profit margins. There are many companies who have already embraced this at scale for decades, like Solos and Just You, who have had NO single supplement for decades.”
One of the most surprising elements of the research is that women age 65–74 are the most affluent and are willing to spend more on high-quality, meaningful travel than almost any other market segment in travel.
“When companies compete on price, it’s a race to the bottom,” says Ray. “At JourneyWoman, we advocate for brand building over discounts, and understanding the needs of this audience, which is loyal, cares deeply about sustainable travel and makes their travel decisions based on word of mouth, not advertising campaigns. Women over 50 are the ideal audience for any travel company and destination.”
Invisible No More Key findings: women 50+ are powerful
- 98% of respondents said they are the decision maker in their household
- In North America, the women 50+ travel market will more than double from USD$245 billion in 2025 to USD$519 billion by 2035
- Travel spending by Women 50+ is almost equal to the entire Millennial marketplace
- Women 65-74 spend the most on travel; overall, spending increases as women get older
- 24% of women 50+ travellers are married; the remainder are widowed, divorced, separated, never married, etc.
- 71% of women 50+ rely on less than 10 sources of information to make a decision
- Sources that inspire travel are (in order): Recommendations from friends and relatives, Travel company websites and online websites for women by women. Travel media and mainstream media ranked lower
- Most women prefer to book their own travel independently, prefer less-travelled destinations and slower, longer trips
- 14% use a travel advisor, 45% do not; 41% do sometimes
- 78% say that the single supplement is a barrier to solo travel
To learn more about our findings, read our News Release to media here.
To learn more about our consulting services for the travel industry and work with us, click here.
Download a complimentary version of the “Invisible No More” report using the buttons below. The more you know, the more you can advocate for women. Please share in your networks!
More on JourneyWoman’s research
JourneyWoman Staff
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