The global adventure tourism industry — travel that includes biking, camping, hiking and other outdoor activities in a natural setting — is estimated to be worth a whopping $2 trillion by 2032.
Women play a major role in driving the sector’s astronomical growth, making up 57% of travelers who book through global travel companies, according to research from the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
“Women have long been in the driver’s seat of decision-making when it comes to travel,” said Sarah Dusek, founder of ultra-luxury global sustainable safari and travel experience brand Few & Far, noting that women overwhelmingly lead the charge in booking for their families or other groups. “But the travel world is only just beginning to wake up to the influence women have in this space from a spending perspective,” she said. “Brands that communicate (effectively with) and understand women thrive.”
Travel advisors have a significant opportunity to meet the moment as adventure tourism grows at an estimated 19.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2032. Understanding what women want out of adventure travel — and how to serve them — is key.
Kelly Kimple, the CEO of Adventures in Good Company, a company specializing in immersive group adventure tours designed exclusively for women, underscores the point. “Overall, the female travel market represents a significant and growing segment of the industry that has distinct preferences, needs and purchasing power,” she said.
And while women-only tours have been her company’s specialty for the last 25 years, “the industry at large can benefit by understanding and catering to the unique preferences for female travelers of all ages,” she said.
An Accelerating Pace
Kimple says that women’s demand for adventure travel has always been a force, but has recently accelerated at a new pace that has altered the scale of her business entirely.
“Over the last decade, we have definitely seen an increase in demand,” she said, noting that the company nearly doubled in size between 2015 and 2019 — going from 52 trips and 500 travelers in 2015 to 89 trips and more than 1,000 travelers in 2019.
Catherine Heald, co-founder and CEO of the women-founded, women-led tour operator Remote Lands, reported an increase of 25% in women’s adventure trip bookings year over year. “Female clients are at the forefront of our business,” she said. “As women have long been cited as the decision makers in terms of travel purchases, it should come as no surprise that they are now leading the way when it comes to adventure travel.”
Older, Solo-Travelers Out Front
While women overall are driving the spike in adventure travel bookings, the statistics show that older women specifically are making much of the impact: Women ages 65 and older represent the greatest recent increase, spiking from 4% of the sector in 2019 to a whopping 18% in 2022, the Washington Post reports. And many of these travelers are hitting the road solo.
Kimple notes that the majority of her company’s bookings come from women between 55 years and 65 years old who are traveling without companions. “More women over 50 are reaching transition points in their lives, such as retirement and empty nesting, and they’re eager to explore and have the adventures they may have not had the time or resources for earlier in their lives,” she said. But they might not have partners, friends or family members with the same interests.
Therefore, “they are looking for the added security and safety that comes with joining a guided, small group trip — especially when traveling to a new destination where you are getting outside in remote locations,” she said. “More women are finding themselves looking for adventure later in life, and while they may be confident to travel alone, they are also wise enough to know that there’s added security and safety and a host of other benefits to joining a group tour.”
Kimple has also seen the marketplace respond with new opportunities to meet this traveler’s preferences. “The industry is certainly starting to notice and responding with more new business and options available to find the dates, destinations and style of trip they are seeking,” she said.
Adventure, Broadly Defined
While adventure travel can mean mountain climbing or endurance trekking, it doesn’t always have to mean vigorous activity. Women travelers are seeking the gamut of options within this wide-ranging category.
Together with her husband, Dusek was a pioneer in the glamping industry in the U.S. when she started Under Canvas in 2009. “We pushed a revolution in what outdoor adventure travel could look like,” she said, noting that traditional camping requires a lot of work that often falls to female trip organizers — but glamping offers an easier, less-fuss way to experience the wonder of being outdoors.
“I think companies like ours really helped pave the way for more women to get outside, for adventures to become less hardcore,” she said. Her current company, Few & Far, creates these “soft adventure” experiences, which she notes are more inclusive for a wide range of traveler styles. “You don’t have to be a badass adventurer who is capable of scaling Everest,” she said. “You can love the outdoors and creature comforts at the same time, which has helped women be braver, get outside more and be more adventurous in their travel.”
In short, “adventure travel doesn’t have to be rough,” she said, especially when options exist to stay in five-star, eco-minded locations and beautifully designed lodges. “Women constantly ask me where we are going next, and they love the camaraderie of meeting other women who want to be adventurous but who also don’t want to rough it.”
Both Dusek and Kimple note the opportunity for women to make this kind of meaningful and enduring connection on such trips. Kimple said, “We also often find that people form lasting friendships on our trips, end up booking other trips together and stay in touch long after the trip ends.”
Further, she’s seen an increasing demand for “slower, wellness-style trips.” And these types of journeys are equally important for women seeking adventure travel options in the marketplace.
“Women have discovered that resting can also be active, and resting requires the outdoors to help us feel alive again, to feed our souls”, Dusek said. “Women are longing for more ways to come back to themselves, and adventure travel provides that.”
“There is something magical that happens when we travel, and even more so when we travel to outdoor destinations, when we connect with nature — and more and more women are realizing that,” she added. “We’re realizing we need space, we need nature, we need silence, we need freedom from the demands the world puts on us. And nature is a perfect place to recoup, rejuvenate ourselves, rest and revive.”
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Jordan D | 09/12/24 - 09:42 AM
Is it really 2 trillion by 2032? That seems wild to me. I would love to see the research behind this estimated number. Otherwise great article.
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