ESCORTE
development at Intrepid Travel, whose most popular destinations for solo travellers include India and southeast Asia. “People want to explore the places on their bucket list and – whether you’re in a relationship or not – travelling with a group of people from all ages and backgrounds is a fantastic way to do it.” What’s also appealing is the
level of freedom an escorted tour allows: those who like time to themselves can take a break from others when they want, while meal times and excursions are pleasantly social affairs. “Dining alone is perhaps one of the biggest sources of apprehension for solo travellers,” says Julie Brooker, UK head of sales at Trafalgar. “Our guests have plenty of opportunities to dine with their fellow travellers throughout their journey, including the truly unique experience of dining as a guest
LEFT:
Be My Guest dining in
Florence with Trafalgar
RIGHT:
Bowling with Grand UK Holidays
FAR RIGHT: Contiki trip in Australia
BOTTOM: Chile’s
Atacama
desert with Just You
in the home of a local resident through our exclusive Be My Guest dining experiences.”
w MAKING FRIENDS For first-timers, it can be quite daunting to travel on a ‘regular’ tour with other couples or friends
as there’s the worry of feeling isolated, so choosing to travel with a specialist singles operator is a good option. There’s the guarantee of other solo travellers on the tour, a room with no single supplement, and a dedicated host to provide information and get people talking. On Solos tours, clients are
often encouraged to meet at the bar before dinner, for example, and nobody dines alone unless they want to. Fellow singles specialist Just
You has seen such a growth in demand that it has launched 40 tours in the past 12 months, including a 12-day exploration of the rainforests of Borneo. Its most popular destinations are Italy, the US and China, while it has experienced a recent increase in demand for holidays to South America and Africa. “Many solo travellers aren’t
Many ‘single’ travellers aren’t actually single but opt to travel alone simply because their partner can’t go
necessarily single, but are looking to indulge in their hobbies or special interests,” says Harold Burke, sales director at Grand UK Holidays. With a special-interest tour, clients can meet like- minded people and share their experiences together; some make lifelong friends in the process. Even at the younger end of the age scale, 18-35s specialist Contiki breaks its tours down into categories to help spark friendships, from High Energy
56
travelweekly.co.uk 2 June 2016
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