Travel industry urged to prioritise female audience
Following International Women's Day, WayAway says travel providers and sellers overlook opportunities to embrace female travellers
In the wake of International Women’s Day, travel search comparison website WayAway is calling on the travel industry to recognise and prioritise the needs of female travellers, particularly those travelling with children.
A recent survey conducted by WayAway among 2477 statistically relevant female travellers in the United States revealed a striking statistic: 82 percent of travel decisions are made by women. Despite this significant influence, only 10 percent of respondents reported that their partner planned the entire trip.
This underscores the crucial role that women play in the travel planning process, a fact often overlooked by the travel industry.
Janis Dzenis, Director of Communications for WayAway, highlighted the disconnect between the dominance of women in travel decision-making and the lack of inclusion in the creation and marketing of travel products. He noted that despite the economic and moral imperative to target female travellers, the industry largely ignores this demographic.
The survey also shed light on the types of holidays favored by female travellers, with half of respondents indicating that they travelled at least once last year with children and/or their partners, while only 29 percent traveled alone.
Read the summer print edition of AccomNews HERE
While the majority of respondents reported positive travel experiences, concerns were raised regarding the unequal distribution of leisure time and activities during vacations.
17 percent of respondents expressed not having enough time to themselves, while 13 percent felt they needed another vacation to recover from their holiday. Additionally, 8 percent admitted to not including any activities for themselves during their travels.
Mr Dzenis emphasised the need to address these disparities.
He said: “The current range of travel services and search & booking tools available to women do not ‘inspire inclusion’ – the International Women’s Day theme for 2024 – in any way. That despite the fact that, as our research shows, 82 percent of family trips are booked by a woman. There’s an economic as well as a moral case for targeting female travellers here that almost our whole industry is ignoring.
“Equally it seems that the whole concept of holiday and relaxation – certainly in a family enviroment – seems to be somewhat unequal for women with 13 percent saying they need another holiday at the end and 8 percent not getting to include activities for themselves. I don’t think we need to survey the guys to find out they have a rather different experience!
“Travel service providers, tour operators and travel intermediaries should be thinking about how to create products that ensure female travellers, particuarly those travelling with children, are able to have a more equitable experience. That’s not an easy task, we know, but right now we don’t see anyone trying to fulfill what would seem, on the surface at least, to be more than just a niche.”
AccomNews is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.
