Solo travellers a focus for expedition and adventure market, conference hears

Solo travellers are a growing focus in the expedition and adventure market, according to speakers at the inaugural Aspire and Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) Luxury Adventure Showcase.

Speaking at the event on December 8, Sarah Schlederer, Quark Expeditions’ national strategic key account manager for the UK and Ireland, told the almost 50 agents attending: “The beautiful thing about expedition cruising is that when you get on board, you don’t feel solo. The expedition team makes sure you always have people to mix and mingle with. 

“In that first day or two you might feel tentative, but then you just get welcomed. It’s not necessarily about where you’re from or what job you do – it’s this shared, common interest of the incredible things you’ve seen and done.”

She said Quark Expeditions offers “dedicated single cabins priced fairly for solo use”, which “are not in the bowels of the ship” and have “private balconies and panoramic windows”.

Schlederer added: “I think we’re also one of the few, if not the only, luxury expedition line that still offers the same-gender-sharing option, which admittedly is not as popular as it used to be, but it’s still a more cost-effective way to travel alone.”

AE Expeditions also caters for solo travellers with “more no-solo-supplement offers than ever before”, as explained by Katie Harber, the line’s senior business development manager. 

Schlederer said part of the appeal for solo travellers is that all guests spend time “connecting over dinner, connecting on deck, connecting in the bar” and make “instant friends”.

She has experienced this herself, telling delegates that she met a friend while solo on board an Antarctica cruise in 2015 and they have since visited four continents together.

Debra Fox, Abercrombie & Kent’s managing director for the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, agreed that solo travellers are a “huge” market for the brand.

She said A&K’s clients, including solo travellers, have been increasingly seeking “personal” and “intimate” experiences, saying: “People want to be with other people – I think there’s a socialisation that’s becoming really important.

“[Expeditions] have security and safety, particularly for solos, while still having space for friendships, private access, private experiences and feeling intimate.”

Agents are also seeing a boost in the number of solo travellers interested in expedition and adventure travel. Authentic Travel Company’s managing director Jane Middleton explained that, on board a recent Antarctic expedition she joined, a third of the 199 passengers were solo travellers.

She said that people with a range of backgrounds are choosing to travel solo, whether single or travelling without their partner so as not to miss out on experiences. “People are not prepared to just sit at home these days, male or female – they’re just going to go anyway,” she said.