Thread: Solo Nonrevers....Would you go it alone? SYD? KUL? DAR? PVG ?

The old adage preaches, “It is not where you go, but who you’re with that matters.” But for an aging and affluent generation keen on self-actualization and crossing items off their bucket lists, it is the where, not who, that takes precedence.
“I decided to hike Kilimanjaro solo because it fell on my 50th birthday and, having been a single parent, I found it very symbolic. The strength and fortitude it took to survive was representative of the daily uphill climbs toward a large goal,” said Kristen McCracken, a 50-year-old mother of four who flew to Tanzania alone to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, arriving at Uhuru Peak on her birthday.

McCracken wasn’t completely alone. She booked through luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent and met her 12 companions on arrival — four of whom had also come alone.


“I listened to my friend recount stories from climbing the steepest section of Mt. Kilimanjaro and thought it was a terrifying…and that I should do it. The next morning I called,” said Gay Pollitt, a dentist from Chicago who also traveled to Tanzania alone to celebrate her 50th on the mountain.

Luxury tour operators and hoteliers’ data shows solo luxury travel is on the rise.
Abercrombie and Kent experienced a more than 60 percent jump in solo travelers between 2013 and 2017 with an even steeper 25 percent spike year-over-year in 2017. A&K’s expedition cruises also saw significant double-digit growth in solo guests starting in 2013.
Solo travelers are largely seasoned and older females. Seventy percent of A&K’s solo travelers take at least one overseas trip per year, 70 percent are female, and half are between the ages of 50 and 60.

The growth of solo female travelers has been particularly noted in the outdoor adventure circuit. Last year, 68 percent of luxury operator Black Tomato’s solo travelers were female — a number that the company expects to increase — and the number of women traveling with REI has grown by 60 percent since 2010.


The reasons driving these travelers to invest thousands on adventures that they embark on alone vary.
According to A&K’s traveler surveys, nearly 40 percent chose a trip because their partner didn’t share their interest in the destination, or scheduling conflicts prevented family or friends from joining them. A quarter of those surveyed traveled alone to pursue a personal passion such as wildlife photography, history, or archaeology.
“My partner was not interested in coming and I really wanted an escape,” Sean Harrison, executive vice president of Kingdom Hotel Investments, said. “I love the solitude the mountains give you and the free space in my mind…but also wanted to be able to meet some new people.”
Harrison had previously traveled alone to Patagonia and Everest and found planning vacations solo gives him the flexibility necessary with a demanding job and business travel schedule.

“Solo travel has moved away from pre-conceived notions of the lonely and awkward. Clients are looking to step out for a moment and experience things at their own pace to gain a deep sense of place and focus on well-being or creative projects,” Black Tomato founder Tom Marchant said.