 There are a few industries that seem to be most suited to women, including nursing, preschool teaching and travel and tourism. It would seem that the woman’s touch is being put to good use in the local travel and tourism industry. A woman’s ability to be hospitable and take care of the practical needs of those around her seems to be just the right skills needed in this growing local industry.
Not only are women increasingly making up this important industry, but they are making use of it too. There is an increase of single women travellers and women travelling with their children and grandchildren. While many of these female travellers might be married, they are choosing to travel on their own or with their children more so now than ever seen before.
Women are also the most important decision makers in planning a holiday destination with 80% of all travel decisions being made by women. Women are the decision makers around where and when a family goes on holiday and what accommodation they stay in. This makes women the main target market for the travel and tourism industry.
Travel companies are increasingly taking their cues from women to tailor their products to meet their clients’ needs as women are increasingly becoming their most important client base to gain feedback from.
With the South African tourism and hospitality industry growing as its number of foreign tourists grows, it is becoming a viable career opportunity for young women starting a career. A woman’s creativity, care, professionalism and ability to multi-task are just the right skills needed in this growing local industry. There has been a 230% increase in the number of women-only travel companies over the past six years.
In recent years, the growth of the female traveller demographic has necessitated changes across the entire hospitality industry. The common presence in hotel rooms of items such as ironing boards, hair dryers, and coffee makers stems from hotel companies' responses to women customers' demands. The hospitality industry’s emphasis on marketing to female business travellers is a response to the fact that women now tend to be the primary selectors of hotels.
Young, old, single, married, divorced, widowed, mothers, daughters and sisters – women have become a driving force in the travel industry. The growing number of single women over the age of 35 has also fuelled the number of woman travelling alone. In addition, more and more older women are travelling as the baby boomer generation invests in experiences all over the world, and an increasing number of single moms are also seeing the world. According to statistics, the average global adventure traveller today is a 47 year old female who wears a size 12 dress.
The girlfriend getaway market represents a significant growth area in travel and tourism. In general, women research destinations and accommodation online before making decisions about where and when to travel, making online media the best way to reach this growing target market.
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