Women and Travel
By Davi Lowman
You are a woman between thirty-five and sixty-five years of age. You want to go to Italy, but have not traveled overseas. You may be traveling alone or with another woman. You have a passport, but are unsure about the next step and somewhat hesitant to make airline reservations. You are not alone.
These are the statistics describing the typical modern female traveler. Women are traveling more than any other time in history and the travel industry is working to accommodate this female wanderlust.
The world of women travelers has changed dramatically in recent times, but quite significantly since the Victorian era. In those times, if a woman traveled alone, or with another woman, they were considered “unusual.” Worse still, sometimes women traveling alone (even in more recent times) were considered to be amongst the world’s oldest profession. Even today airlines rarely upgrade women traveling alone – as opposed to men traveling alone. Research conducted on women business executives shows that single women are still given less than desirable restaurant tables. However, research also shows that some hotels are increasing such things as security and amenities when it comes to women travelers. For instance, they place the woman traveler’s room near the elevator to eliminate a walk down the hallway and have improved the quality of the lotions, soaps, irons, and hair dryers in the room.
When it comes to leisure travel, almost 40 percent of women age thirty-five and older have no built-in travel partner, so traveling solo or in all-female groups is considered quite usual. Women are possibly the fastest growing segment of the travel industry, but are still looking for that special consideration.
This is the case regarding my latest tour, which occurred in May, when I guided seven women on a “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” tour through Tuscany. This was the first time I had the opportunity to host an all-female entourage. Three of the women were childhood friends of mine and the others were friends of theirs.
My non-scientific research turned up some interesting “facts”
• The ages ranged from late forties to early seventies.
• Half were college grads, half had some college education, six had active careers, one was retired.
• Three of the women were married, three were divorced, and one had never married.
• Ninety percent said that they had traveled alone or with other women at least once in the past two years.
• Those who had traveled alone said they would not have done so if they had found a travel companion.
• Two out of the three married women said they wanted to travel more than their husbands.
When asked what they wanted from a tour, they responded – not necessarily in this order:
• Safety
• Good accommodations
• Good food
• Reliable, comfortable transportation
• Small group size
• Fun companions
• Flexibility (related to the itinerary)
• Special “events” (such as an Italian chef cooking dinner at the house, a wine tasting class, etc.)
• All details taken care of
Related to their past travels, they said there were some safety concerns about traveling alone, but they would not have passed up the opportunity. However, when the chance to travel with an all-woman group presented itself, they jumped at the chance. According to travel surveys, many women find that group travel is the best alternative because it provides both safety and companionship.
The internet is an excellent choice to research options for women who are traveling alone as there are several tour companies who specialize in women-only travel. Some of these companies are specifically for same sex couples but this is usually clarified immediately. Determining how “good” a tour is can be much more difficult, if not impossible, from a Web site. Most of the women who have traveled with me have found my tour company through word-of-mouth. They felt that this type of recommendation lends much more credibility than any advertisement or Web site.
Surveys conducted by travel agencies suggest that women choose to vacation with other women more often than with their husband or boyfriend. The women surveyed took one trip a year with their husband or boyfriend, but took two or more trips with female friends or a group of women. A majority of these women believed that men and women have different interests when on vacations, requiring both persons to compromise their idea of a good time. The others believed that men are not that interested in travel and would be just as happy staying home. Some may think that all women want to do is shop but this has not been the main focus of the travel experience I have had with female travelers.
G.K. Cherterton said, “The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” I have found that the majority of women traveling with me fit the quote’s definition of “traveler.” Granted, we do some of the “touristy” things, such as experiencing Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, and other well publicized tourist traps in Tuscany, but given the opportunity to “take the road less traveled," women choose the unknown adventure over the well known path.
I have noted that women in general seem to have a higher degree of interest in the factual history of Italy, not to mention the various insights into the personal lives of the people responsible for the history, such as the Medici family, the creators of the Renaissance. I have also found that females are much more open, and actually desire, a flexible itinerary and possess receptive attitudes towards a more relaxed approach to traveling.
However, I have found that women, as a group, are not as punctual when compared to groups of married couples and/or mixed singles. Some women travelers present a challenge when it comes to following the necessary part of an itinerary, i.e., realizing that “one hour” in a particular museum or place actually means one hour or that certain parts of the itinerary are not flexible. Women seem somewhat unprepared for the realities of Italy, such as hotels without elevators, lack of ice, no yellow cheeses, the language barrier, and the undulating, narrow roads crisscrossing Tuscany. (This led to another interesting “fact” – there seems to be a higher degree of motion sickness in women!)
Because Italians have the perception that women traveling alone or in groups are wealthy, women are the target of charming Italian salesmen. Almost magically, they appear in a restaurant, take the table next to the group of women, and casually begin a conversation which eventually turns into a sales pitch for their leather shop. These men, who are quite attractive, are usually not the shop owners but are men hired by the owners to lure women off the streets and into the shops. On the latest tour, during lunch in Florence, one woman in the group decided to accompany a salesman to his leather shop. She was advised not to do so as we had plans to visit a reputable store that afternoon. The outcome of the story is she is now the owner of a $1,500 coat that she did not want.
Overall, my experience of traveling with women has been filled with fun and laughter. Women of all ages are traveling, solo or in groups, and finding it to be “a good thing.” They tell me they are able to form friendships with other female travelers while on tour and to relax quite easily into a shared experience. So, search the web, ask your friends about their tour, pack your bags (lightly!), and make those airline reservations! |
