As travel companies look for new ways to expand business, they are increasingly courting solo travelers. Roughly one in 10 leisure travelers hit the road alone, according to the most recent data from the Travel Industry Association, and more travel companies, from specialty tour operators to individual resorts, are creating packages that cater to those customers.
Intrepid Travel (intrepidtravel.com), which specializes in small, off-the-beaten-path tours, just introduced four singles-only trips to places like Peru and Nepal. Travelers willing to share a room don't have to pay the usual single-supplement fee that helps to make up for the difference in price charged to two travelers sharing a room.
In January, Absolute Travel (absolutetravel.com), a Manhattan travel agency specializing in customized luxury trips, began a service pairing compatible travelers who would rather not go it alone.
Even individual spas and resorts are creating packages for solo travelers. The Westin St. John Resort and Villas is offering a three-night, $2,550 "solo-cation," which includes a villa with a private pool, a private Jeep tour, and a poolside cabana with butler (call 888-627-7206 and ask for the Solovac rate).
This summer, the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica (fairmont.com/santamonica) rolled out a Single and the City package, which encourages guests to explore the city on their own.
The new options can help solo travelers assert their independence while feeling less like loners. When Sue Blough retired in 2000, she started traveling with Adventure Women (adventurewomen.com), which caters to single female travelers. "When I retired, I hadn't traveled much," said Blough, who lives in South Florida and is an avid hiker. The group was comfortable, she said, not just because she wasn't scaling mountains all alone, but also because she wasn't surrounded by "mostly couples."
While she still travels with Adventure Women, she said she also likes Country Walkers (countrywalkers.com), which introduced its own program for female travelers in 2005. And she's noticed more singles showing up, even on regular tours.
