Women find travel liberating, opt for adventure trips

Chennai: It seems women find travel liberating, more so when they travel solo, in women only groups or when they opt for adventure activities. All these trends are on a steady rise.

A study on the booking and enquiry trends of women travellers by Cox & Kings has found 32 per cent year-on-year increase in women travellers opting for adventure across soft, medium and extreme activities. About 70 per cent of them come from metro cities while the rest from tier II cities.

Diving and trekking have emerged to be the two most likened adventure activities by Indian women adventure travellers. While Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and Nepal top the trekking bucket-list for women, Andaman Islands, Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Red Sea - Egypt, Bali, Gili Islands, Great Barrier Reef and Mauritius comprise the list of diving destinations. Besides, walking, cycling, biking, rafting and sailing are other activities that Indian women travellers opt for. There has also been a marginal increase in women's participation in extreme adventures including Kilimanjaro expedition, Stok Kangri expedition and Ice-climbing in Iceland and Manali.

"Adventure has become an enjoyable activity for families to bond. Today women are up for extreme adventure trips and find it liberating as it merges nature, adrenaline and exploration. It also empowers women in several ways and helps curb any inhibitions," said Anand, head, relationships, Cox & Kings.

Similarly, there is a spurt in the number of women solo travellers. "Over the last three years we have seen a cumulative 100 per cent rise in the number of solo women travellers owing to increasing financial independence and need for spending time with oneself," finds Manmeet Ahluwalia, marketing head, Expedia in India.

A mix of social media influence and word-of-mouth is fuelling the growth in solo travel. Safety remains a crucial aspect, but women do their research well before stepping out.

"Solo trips cut down the planning and confirmation part, around 30 per cent of high- earning travellers accepted they would rather travel alone to experience the unexplored," Kapil Goswamy, MD, Big Breaks.com.