Stigma Falls for Single TravelerPRIME – August 2014 By Debbie Gardner debbieg@thereminder.com Seeing the world solo. There was a time when that phrase might have conjured up images of backpack-toting 20-somethings or the book-reading table for one at a resort cafe. Oh, how things have changed. Today's solo traveler is part of a very diverse demographic. He or she might be a single 20 or 30-something looking for an adventure, a married middle-ager pursuing a passion, or a widowed boomer or elder with the time and the means to indulge his or her wanderlust. In 2012, more than 35 million adults traveled solo, according to statistics cited by Camille Olevere, vice president of sales, Americas, Norwegian Cruise Line, in an article that ran that year on the travel industry website, Travel Age West. And Norwegian Cruise Line isn't the only company in the travel industry measuring this trend. From cruise ships to booking agents to bloggers, the solo traveler is starting to attract a lot of notice. So, if you've been considering going it alone on your next vacation, this might just be the time. It's come a long way When Janice Waugh, a Toronto-born travel blogger and author of the "Solo Traveler's Handbook, typed "solo travel" into the search engine of her computer on a dreary Saturday afternoon in February of 2008, she said she was dismayed by the results. What came up were a lot of sites offering to "get singles together, and a lot of ads," she said. "They were not in any way encouraging [and] did not make the kind of contribution I was looking for." An experienced freelance writer and former solo traveler – she had taken trips on her own in her 20s – the then 51-year-old widow set out to change that landscape by traveling alone and sharing her experiences online. "The Internet was big enough [and] there will be others that will agree [with me] and want to follow me," Waugh concluded at the time. She started her blog, solotraveler.com, in April of 2009. Thirty-five solo trips later, an average of 65,000 individuals visit her site each month. "There's over 1,000 posts about solo travel on the blog," Waugh said, noting the viewers who visit and comment on her blog and/or answer the twice-weekly questions she and site editor Tracey Nesbitt post are a "big and vibrant community." She added "I cannot travel everywhere in the world. I have not had every experience that needs to be shared," and that kind of information is what visitors often add in comments on her blog. Her book, "The Solo Travelers Handbook," now in its second edition, culls information from Waugh's own travels and input from blog followers to create a resource for the solo traveler that, she noted, "wants to get a bit more adventurous." Waugh said surveys of her blog readers indicate most visitors to her website are in their 40s and 50s. A companion Facebook page, the Solo Travel Project, which Waugh started in 2011, skews slightly younger. "It's 70 percent female and the age range is 30 and 40s," she noted, adding that her Facebook page currently has 55,000 followers. Waugh also maintains a Twitter feed and Pinterest and Google Plus pages. Waugh said she mined the experiences of her social media followers this past January to crowd source recommendations for an accommodation guide for solo travelers. "We ended up with 159 accommodation recommendations from 51 different countries," she noted. And though most of her blog and Facebook page followers are women, and either never married or are widowed, Waugh said she does get comments from the occasional married man or woman who is opting to travel alone. Waugh said she understands this segment of solo traveler who may elect to take a trip on their own because of conflicting schedules or interests. Solo travel for committed couples, she added, can actually strengthen a relationship in some cases. "If you are part of a couple and go off for a week or two weeks on your own, you bring back a rejuvenated you to the relationship," she said. "You have new stories to tell, a new perspective on the world, and new learning." Travel companies taking note Informal solo travel information sites such as Waugh's blog and Facebook page aren't the only places tracking this trend. Some of the major players in the travel industry are starting to take notice, too. Among the first company to actively plan for this emerging travel demographic was Norwegian Cruise Line (www.ncl.com). As of this October when the company's newest ship, the Norwegian Escape comes online, the cruise line will have a total of 332 studio-style staterooms designed for single travelers available on five of its ships. "These award-winning staterooms feature vivid, contemporary d cor and mood lighting. Our Studios are an industry first, giving solo cruisers the most affordable, stylish way to cruise," Vanessa Lane Picariello, public relations and event manager for Norwegian Cruise Lines, said. "Studio guests also have access to their own private Studio Lounge, open morning and night, so studio guests can meet up, make plans for their trip and be social. It provides a space solely dedicated to solo cruisers and creates a sense of camaraderie, as well as providing a space for them to interact with like-minded travelers." Picariello said the cruise line has also been sensitive to the solo traveler's budget, pricing these studio rooms in a way that avoids the traditional "single supplement" upcharge that guest pay when one cruiser books a double occupancy room. "I think the fact that cruise lines have dedicated rooms and are building more ships with single rooms – there's a huge, huge investment there – they are only doing it because they know the market is growing," Waugh noted. And Norwegian isn't alone in tracking this trend. According to a July article on solo travel posted by Kiplinger, tour operator Abercrombie & Kent recently reported a 19 percent increase in trips booked by solo travelers in 2013, with most of those travelers 55 years of age or older. In response to this trend, Abercrombie & Kent now maintains a section dedicated to the solo traveler, including special trip pricing, on its website, www.abercrombiekent.com . The Kiplinger article noted several other travel providers, such as the Road Scholar program ( www.roadscholar.org ), Smithsonian Journeys Tailor-Made Journeys ( www.smithsonianjourneys.org /tailor-made) and Walking the World ( http://walkingtheworld.com ), that also cater to – and in some cases make price accommodations for – the solo traveler. Waugh said she and her website editor monitor the single supplement issue – which can add up to 200 percent to the cost of a solo traveler's trip – very carefully, and send out a periodic solo traveler's advisory offering trips "where there is no solo supplement" to individuals who sign up for her blog's monthly newsletter. You don't have to travel alone The solo travel trend has also spawned a new type of social group – the solo travelers club. A fairly new phenomenon, the club idea of traveling alone, together, is quickly gaining popularity. For example, The Solo Travelers Club hosted by AAA of western and central New York has attracted nearly 4,000 members in four short years. "I would never have dreamed when we started in March of 2010 that the club would have grown so much," Sue Smith, club coordinator, said. "Every meeting we get another 30 or 40 people." Smith said club members range in age from 40 to 80 years old, with the majority a "very active" 65 to 75 years of age. Most of the members are widows, about 800 are men, and "about 5 percent have a spouse that can't travel for some reason, whether it be illness or whether it be that they just don't want to travel." When it comes to the types of travel experiences her solo travel club members are looking for, Smith said they run the gamut. "They do everything. Some people might be retired and can only afford day trips and there are some who want to go around the world," she said. "There are some women who will book six to eight big trips a year." In response to this trend, AAA of the Pioneer Valley recently launched its own Solo Travelers Club. Club coordinator Marianne Zbikowski said AAA started promoting the new club through its members' newsletter in December. Sixty-four people came to the first official meeting in April. "At our second meeting on June 18 there were 70 people present, and [total] membership is closing in on 191," Zbikowski said. "We are thrilled with that response . the membership grows on a daily basis." Though the club has so far only been advertised through the AAA Times newsletter, Zbikowski said individuals don't need to be a member of AAA to join. There is no membership fee. Registration is available online at www.pioneervalley.aaa.com/pv/travel/solo-traveler.php or by filling out a form at any AAA branch office. Benefits of joining the Pioneer Valley AAA's Solo Travelers Club include trips specifically designed and priced for club members, social gatherings, and special members-only events. Much like the New York club, Zbikowski said the majority of the Pioneer Valley Solo Travelers are widows and widowers. However she has also been "talking to people who are [joining] because their travel interests are different [than their partners]." Though they may travel as a couple once or twice a year, "the guy may be going on a golf trip and the gal is going on a spa vacation." Above all Zbikowski said the Pioneer Valley club, though still in its infancy, is definitely answering a need. "People were so happy to se something being done in this area to get the solo traveler together," she said. "I'm looking for members input in the direction we will take and the trips we plan."  | ||||||
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PRIME photo courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line | ||
