Solo vacations doubled after pandemic as more women choose to travel alone

Individual vacations have doubled as more women choose to travel alone after the coronavirus pandemic, according to luxury travel agencies.

Black Tomato said the number of women who decide to travel alone has increased from 30 percent to 50 percent of all single bookings and has doubled since the start of the year.

Meanwhile, luxury vacation expert Scott Dunn said requests for solo escapes increased eightfold during the same period in 2019.

Speaking to The Times, NHS project manager Laura Kirkbride, 36, described how she booked a solo vacation to Ibiza after a difficult separation last year.

‘I learned from social media’ [my partner] He met someone else when he was done with me.” “I live in a small town, everybody knows each other’s business, and I wanted to keep myself out.”

Elsewhere, Jess Thorpe, 28, a social media content creator, chose to take a solo trip to Ibiza after being single during the pandemic and losing two friends as well as a family member to a heart attack.

“Being forced to be alone in isolation at home made me realize that I can only survive and create my own happiness,” she said.

He woke up early on his journey and explored – and although he initially worried about eating alone, he soon realized that no one was focusing on him because they were too busy with their own meals.

Author Mansi Shah, 42, enjoyed a single vacation in the Maldives last month after realizing that “life is too short” amid the pandemic.

Separation holidays have been a part of popular culture for years; The 1989 film Shirley Valentine (pictured) stars a lonely housewife who travels to Greece with a friend before embarking on a journey of self-discovery.

Carolyn Addison, Product Manager for Black Tomato, said the main business is still families and couples traveling, but “it’s gratifying to see so many women start making their own travel plans without waiting.”

Simon Lynch, global sales director for Scott Dunn, said that 60% of solo travelers are women.

More than 20% of solo trips went to Africa, including Botswana, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Travel Queen’s Melanie Stephens also told the publication that many of her clients are taking their women-only tours due to a breakup or divorce.

Separation holidays have been a part of popular culture for years; The 1989 film Shirley Valentine is about a lonely housewife who travels to Greece with a friend before embarking on a journey of self-discovery.