About 11% of all leisure travelers of 34.8 million adults in the US travel alone, according to the Travel Industry Association (TIA).
Typically, the solo vacationer is:
- Forty-two-years old.
- Has an annual household income of $54,000.
- Has completed college (38%).
- Has a professional or managerial occupation (26%).
- Is unmarried.
A survey of 100 AAA travel counselors and their counterparts in Canada, the CAA, found 27% reported increases in the number of trips booked by single travelers.
“There are nearly 90 million single people in the US, and this is clearly a market that the travel industry has been focused on in the past few years” said AAA’s vice president of travel, Sandra Hughes.
People between the ages of 18 to 35 comprise the largest group (35%) of solo travelers, according to the TIA.
The next largest group is 35 to 49 year olds (27%), followed by 50 to 64-year-olds (26%) and 65+ (12%).
Most AAA/CAA counselors said Europe was the first destination they suggested to single travelers looking for advice on where to vacation.
For women traveling alone, Hawaii and the Caribbean were other top vacation suggestions, while Mexico and Hawaii were the top recommendations for men.
Report by David Wilkening
