I’m single and about to retire. I would like to know more about traveling alone. What can you tell me about retirees traveling alone? Can you recommend resources? I trust that people will travel again in 2021.
Interesting questions. In fact, solo travelers have plenty of company these days.
Several studies over the past few years have shown that solo travel is a huge part of the travel business. For example, single travelers accounted for 18% of online travel agency bookings worldwide in 2019 Travel port, a UK based travel technology company. This number increased by 7% compared to the previous year.
Yes, many of these go-it-alone are younger (read: millennials). But I’ve spoken to a number of retirees who have tried and enjoyed the solo route. Among their observations:
• Solo does not mean lonely: Many retired solo travelers join small groups that have a special focus, such as photography or diving. You may not have a spouse or partner with you, but you immediately have something in common with other members of the group. A good example: based in Boston Road Scholar, a leading educational travel company with nearly one in four participants in the nonprofit flying alone.
