They’re mature women with plenty of disposable income and the time and taste for adventure. They’re done with kids and often with work. They’re fine traveling without husbands or partners and enjoy meeting a group of like-minded women in places they’ve always wanted to go.
They’re Queenagers, and they’re fueling the expansion of women-only tours underway at a variety of tour operators. The term, coined by the U.K. website Noon, captures both the dignified power of accomplished women and the carefree and indulgent stage of life at which they’ve arrived. It aptly describes the clients who are shifting women-only tours from the margins of the tour business to at least the mid-stream, if not yet all the way to the mainstream.
“This sort of senior traveler is the fastest-growing segment in our sector by far,” said Zina Bencheikh, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Intrepid Travel.
“They want to do things on their own in a small, organized kind of structured way that provides them with security, but at the same time enough connections with the locals and with the people that they travel with so they can have an enjoyable time,” Bencheikh said.
Intrepid Travel guests meet local women in Nepal during the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. Photo Credit: Intrepid Travel
Intrepid launched its Women’s Expeditions series in 2018, taking female groups to countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, India and Kenya. Other companies have dubbed their women-only programs Women of the World, Women in the Wild or Adventures in Good Company.
Bencheikh said Women’s Expeditions was born of the company’s experience that 65% of the customers for its existing tours were female and they accounted for around 80% of travel spending decisions.
At the same time, Intrepid as a company was interested in helping women in less developed countries who lacked meaningful job opportunities to benefit from the money and the personal contact that tourism from Western countries can bring.
“That’s how it started,” Bencheikh said.
The current focus of the Women’s Expeditions series is Saudi Arabia, where tours commence in November. The groups are small — capped at 12 people — to enhance the personal interaction both among tour members and with Saudi women.
The tours are sold worldwide, but Bencheikh said North America is the core market.
“In general, the women’s expeditions do much better with the U.S. market,” she said, adding that this is especially true for the Saudi tour. “They do well globally, but the U.S. market is a good one for this particular trip.”
Other companies have picked up on the phenomenon. Earlier this year, Insight Vacations launched 11 women-only tours to destinations such as rural Italy, rural Portugal, Egypt and the U.S. Deep South.
Melissa Da Silva, North America president of TTC Tour Brands, which operates Insight Vacations, said women-only tours are moving into the limelight.
“They are definitely something our clients are looking for, particularly solo women travelers,” she said. “I think there’s a sense of security in being with other women who are traveling solo. Not that our only-women trips require that, but we certainly do find a higher percentage of those solo travelers on our trips.”
A Geographic Expeditions guest in tent accommodations at Camp Sossus in Namibia. Photo Credit: Geographic Expeditions
Another operator, Geographic Expeditions, chose Namibia for its first women-only venture this year and has announced itineraries for Turkey and Cuba in 2025.
Katia Kravtchenko, vice president of marketing and sales, said her customers generally fit the Queenager profile, although she sees an opening to attract a younger generation, as well.
“Most of them are professionals or retirees, typically between 40 to around 80. They’re curious and adventurous. They’re looking for those more meaningful types of travel experiences, and they’re looking to connect with other like-minded women,” Kravtchenko said.
An agenda for the Cuba trip is perhaps typical for a women-only tour. Highlights include joining a female artist’s studio for a cocktail-making demonstration and crafting a personalized tile to take home; private Cuban dance lessons; visiting a women’s crochet cooperative showcasing local craftsmanship; and sharing in the exuberance of budding musicians.
Like Intrepid, Geographic Expeditions focuses its offerings on countries that are more challenging for women to tour on their own. Cuba departures are capped at 12 guests and start at $6,960 per person.
Women-only tours go back decades but have typically been the province of specialty operators and were often once-a-year or one-off itineraries.
But their popularity is prodding bigger companies to take a deeper look, said Bencheikh, who added that as larger companies see their customers booking women-only trips with operators like Intrepid, “they probably have thoughts that this is an approach for them, as well.”
Intrepid Travel guests in Tordi Garh during a women-only tour. Photo Credit: Intrepid Travel
Keeping an eye on the trend
Not every tour company is jumping in, however. Globus and Tauck are two of the bigger names that don’t offer women-only tours.
Josh Brown, manager of Tauck Ventures, said the company is aware of the trend. “Women-only tours is certainly a segment we’re keeping an eye on, and although we don’t offer anything in that space at present, we definitely wouldn’t rule it out for the future,” he said.
Brown said Tauck’s prime considerations when looking to expand its business are whether it can bring something special and unique to the table and if the business is scalable over time.
“When entering a new segment, we always want to make sure we’re adding something meaningful and worthwhile for our guests, our advisors and our company,” Brown said.
