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Have you been wondering why your Instagram feed is filled with globetrotting women? Well, it turns out, female travel has become a major phenomenon over the past few years, something they are not minding investing lots of time and money on.

Harriet James @harriet86jim

Four years ago, Michelle Langi, an interior designer, made a decision to make time out of her busy schedule to start traveling for adventure.

She had always desired to experience new culture, food, art , history and  architecture and the only way to do it, was to start planning, save and get on her way.

“I decided to pursue travel actively and today, I have almost made it one of my basic needs. If it wasn’t for work, I would travel more times in a year.

I travel twice a year, one local trip and an international one,” she says. 

To do this, Michelle has a bucket list of countries she desires to visit and uses Google to find out what she needs to know about the trip, the best time to travel, language and the culture of the place she is going to.

She also checks out the attraction sites, as well as various activities that one can do while there and plans her finances accordingly.

“I save for my travels indirectly and intentionally. Indirectly because I save through other investments, but only use my annual dividends or interest to travel.

Most times I have to top up the difference, but usually it is a very small amount,” she adds

She has already travelled to 11 countries, including Uganda, Zanzibar, Tanzania, France, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, USA and Malaysia. 

Michelle is just one, among many women who have taken up travel not just as a pastime, but a must do activity in their life programmes. 

A recent survey titled Solo Travel Statistics 2020-2021, by  Condor Ferries based in the United Kingdom, the female travel market has increased by 88 per cent in the last few years demonstrating a massive cultural shift as there has been an increasing desire for females to discover the world alone.

The research quotes travel agents globally, who noted that 59 per cent of their female clients are travelling more by themselves than 10  years ago. 

Michelle believes that this trend is so, because women unlike men, are more adventurous. “For women, travel is fun.

We get to pack an entire wardrobe with change of outfits, while men will only do the same T-shirt and pants or shorts.

Women also love to shop for new items and each destination presents markets for authentic stuff that one would otherwise have to import,” Michelle observes.

Rediscover their world

She adds that another reason for this trend is because women tend to lose themselves a lot more in work, caring for their communities, parents, siblings and children and travel is the only way they can be by themselves and rediscover their world. 

Wangari Kagai, a lawyer and an ardent traveller agrees with Michelle’s sentiments. For her, she took up the travelling mantle from her parents who also enjoyed travel and would take her and her siblings on road trips.

“My dad even bought a spinning globe as our living room accessory. I would spin it in wonder and fantasise about travelling to all those places within our country and beyond the blue oceans.

I was also really passionate about geography, nature and culture from a young age, and it influenced further, my eagerness to explore and experience the world,” recalls Wangari. 

Her travel experiences ranges from solo, to family, to going with her girlfriends for trips.

“With family, we travel four times a year and our preferred destination is Watamu and Eldoret. With my girlfriends, we plan two  annual  trips  a year,  local and overseas.

We have travelled to Diani several times, Naivasha, Dubai, Germany, Bali in Indonesia and Capetown in South Africa,” she says. 

Wangari adds that as an introvert, she prefers the highlands or the savannah to immerse herself fully in nature and enjoy peace and quiet. Women travel statistics indicate that this gender presently drives the global travel economy. 

While there is no local survey to support these claims, Kenyan hospitality sector players agree that these findings can be replicated in the country as well.

For instance, scrolling through the huge Facebook group ‘Wandelust Diaries Ltd’ with more than 350,000 members, you’ll see faces of mothers, aunts, sisters, business women and students exploring quaint villages, large cities, mountains, deserts, beaches, forests and diving into the deep deep sea. 

Victoria Njagi, the Marketing Manager at Pride Inn chain of hotels has noted this trend in their sales reports.

“Women organise family travels, groups, such as chamas and other social groups. 

I think Women take the issue of self-care much more importantly than men and would seize every opportunity to treat themselves,” she observes.

Enjoy memorable times

 She adds that women are more about creating new fulfilling and memorable experiences than men who would just be fine going for out-of-home experiences where they are familiar and quite used to.

Omar Ikram, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Maiyan Holiday Homes, Falcon Hotel and Swara Ranch has observed that 80 per cent of the guests travellers to their establisments as women groups.

“We have quite a number of mothers travelling alone, but mostly women groups. Women love to travel together. They love to dress up when coming for dinner and enjoy our live music,” he notes. 

Emayian Luxury Camp has also noted this increase and as a result, have designed their services to cater for women.

“We offer luxury experiences at affordable rates to cater for our female travellers. We are so happy and proud of the support we have received from women,” says Justus Waweru, the camp’s General Manager.

Wanjiku Gacheru, a travel agent and the CEO of  Village Girl Adventures was tired of her work-home-work routine and opted to start a travel company to assist women and later on men develop the healthy habit of travelling.

From her observation, women bookings were higher than that of men before the Covid-19 pandemic and she attributes this to women prioritising travel more than men. 

“It’s all about priorities. But once a man tries travel, they never look back. They get hooked,” noting that most women travel to get away from the norm. Men on the other hand are very comfortable doing the same routine for years. 

However, the growing number of female travellers, studies show comes with challenges. According to a 2018 Global Business Travel Association and American International Group (AIG) Travel survey, 83 per cent of women reported having had concerns about their safety while on a business trip in the previous year.