Singles holidays on the rise with women driving the growth

The survey of 62,656 singles holidays taken in 2017 by 101 Singles Holidays shows 63% of the trips were taken by women, with men accounting for the remaining 37%.

Both sexes helped drive a 14% year-on-year increase in solo holidays in 2017 with a further 11% predicted for this year.

The average age of a singles holidaymaker was 57, up from 54 in 2014, while 70% of those on the trips were over the age of 50.

India was the fastest growing destination followed by Sir Lanka while Italy overall is the most popular with Greece and Spain in second and third place.

The average booking cost of a singles-only holiday was £1,374, up 24% since 2014nd this has been driven by single travellers being more adventurous in their choice of destination, rather than prices rising.

101 Singles Holidays editor Cathy Winston said: "The stigma surrounding singles holidays has largely disappeared.

“The number of single people in the UK has risen steadily over the past 15 years, plus many people in a relationship are also choosing to travel solo – often to pursue a favourite pastime such as skiing, golf or yoga.

“The biggest growth area is in women over 50. In previous generations, this group might have been reluctant to travel alone, but single, divorced and widowed women are now more empowered, confident and financially independent than ever before.

“And they are being more adventurous with their choice of destination, with Sri Lanka, India and Peru among the most popular destinations, partly driven by TV programmes such as The Real Marigold Hotel.

"The boom in singles holidays has been among the biggest trends in travel over the past few years, and this growth shows no signs of stopping.

“Many travel companies have launched singles-only tours and found they’ve sold out almost immediately.

"Specialist solo travel companies say their customers are looking to visit ever more far-flung destinations and take more adventurous trips.

“They say the next trend will be for more ’independent’ solo travellers - those who might want the security and peace of mind of booking with a tour operator, especially one which specialises in solo travel, but would prefer not to travel with a group."

According to the Office for National Statistics, people not in a relationship made up 34.5% of the population in 2015 compared to 29.6% in 2002.