Girlfriends love Asia
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
More and more women are finding the ease of travelling with their girlfriends more enjoyable as they find it comfortable and do not feel the pressure to appease the opposite sex and feel it a lot safer to travel in groups, according to a frequent traveller, Maryanne Jaques.
Specialising in the Asian travel market, Agoda reports based on their internal data, a 70% surge in the number of bookings made by women - mostly from Australia and the U.S. - to hotspots such as Bali, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand from July 2006 to present.
These figures closely match other research such as a recent Mastercard report ‘Women Travelers of Asia Pacific’ which suggests that around 4 in every 10 Asian trips are made by women travellers - a big jump up from the 1970s estimate of 1 in 10.
Marion Walsh, an expat living in Thailand and Brand Manager for the boutique Anantara Resort Group, said “Without fail, Thailand is always a favourite for a relaxation holiday, whilst Hong Kong and Shanghai are high energy, high octane weekends. It goes without saying that Asia provides a well priced option in comparison to Europe or the US .Also the diverse cultures, beautiful scenery and the friendly smiles that you find here in Asia are second to none!”
In light of this trend, hotel properties are realizing the profitability of girlfriends’ getaways and are offering creative women-only packages, that includes shopping and spa itineraries with cultural tours.
Commenting on the importance of the market for female travellers, Agoda Chief Operating Officer Robert Rosenstein said: “As this trend matures, it will be increasingly important for online merchants like Agoda to develop travel product and websites that appeal to women, which is something we’ve been keen to do for many years now.”
Comments are closed.