kabarsula No longer ‘invisible’: Virtuoso report reveals you’d be a fool to ignore female travellers bandar SLOT INDONESIA

“The reason older women travel alone and feel safe is because we’re invisible,” Sally Loane, Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Destination NSW, joked, prompting nods from the audience at Virtuoso’s Sydney Luxe Report event yesterday. 

But if Virtuoso’s latest luxury travel data is anything to go by, female travellers are becoming increasingly difficult for the industry to overlook.

Women-only solo travel has entered Virtuoso’s top five solo travel experiences for the first time, cited by 32 per cent of advisors, while health and wellness has jumped four places to become the No. 1 experience for solo travellers in 2027.

The findings were unveiled as part of Virtuoso’s 2027 Australia and New Zealand Luxe Report at Bennelong restaurant in the Sydney Opera House.

Following the report’s release, Loane joined Penny Spencer, founder and managing director of Spencer Travel; Melinda O’Rourke, general manager of Birkenhead Group; and Misty Belles, vice president, Global Public Relations at Virtuoso, for a panel moderated by Naomi Parry.

Luxury travellers want the extraordinary

Spencer said demand at the top end of the market was increasingly being driven by travellers seeking extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experiences – and being prepared to spend to make them happen.

“We’re seeing people spending way more money,” Spencer said, pointing to one client who wanted to travel to Egypt and arrange a private meditation experience in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

“We had to go to government to get that done, but we did it,” she said.

Spencer said clients increasingly want something different from luxury travel – particularly experiences they can share with their families and walk away from feeling they have done something truly special.

That desire is also flowing into multigenerational travel, which has overtaken expedition cruising to become Virtuoso’s biggest travel trend for 2027.

And according to Spencer, it is often the grandparents both organising and footing the bill.

She pointed to one client who takes 38 members of his family away every two years to a destination they love. He has even made provisions in his will for the tradition to continue after his death, with money set aside to pay for the trips.

“It goes beyond the grave,” Spencer joked.

Boomers have money – and they’re spending it

The conversation then turned to the considerable spending power of older Australians.

Loane said Australia’s baby boomer generation is reaching a stage where many have both the money and health to travel extensively.

“The boomer generation was hitting its straps, and most boomers are now fitter and healthier, I think, than our parents, which is great,” she said.

She pointed particularly to Australia’s compulsory superannuation system, telling the audience the country’s pool of superannuation funds under management sits at around $4.3 trillion, with boomers now beginning to draw down on their retirement savings.

Loane also identified several other sources of wealth among older Australians, from mining and agriculture to financial services, alongside a cohort benefiting from defined-benefit superannuation schemes.

It was in this wider discussion of the financial freedom enjoyed by some older Australians that Loane made her quip about women becoming “invisible”.

Yet when it comes to travel, Virtuoso’s figures suggest the opposite.

Women-only solo travel enters the top five

Health and wellness has climbed four places to become Virtuoso’s No. 1 solo travel experience for 2027, followed by guided tours, expedition cruising and adventure travel or trekking.
Women-only solo travel makes its debut at No. 5, cited by almost a third of advisors.

Australia has also entered Virtuoso’s top 10 destinations for solo travellers for the first time, while New Zealand ranks seventh.

There is evidence beyond Virtuoso that the Australian female solo market is growing. Research released by Reflections Holidays in August, based on a survey of 1,000 Australian women aged 18 to 75, found 72 per cent sought relaxation and a break from routine from solo travel, while 74 per cent identified safety and security as a key consideration. The company also reported a 21 per cent increase in solo female guests at its NSW holiday parks over the previous year.

Luxury doesn’t have to mean ‘glitz and gold’

The type of luxury these travellers are looking for may also be changing.

O’Rourke offered the example of a female friend who has returned to the same luxury wellness retreat in India five times in seven years.

The attraction wasn’t traditional conspicuous luxury, she explained, but trust, cultural immersion, connection with nature and having the space to properly switch off.

“She’s a luxury customer, but she doesn’t want the glitz and the gold,” O’Rourke said. “She wants something really important.”

That desire reflects a wider shift identified in Virtuoso’s report.
Cultural immersion and authenticity rank as the third and fourth biggest travel trends for 2027, while health and wellness is among the top five motivations for taking a trip.

Luxury remains insulated

The growing opportunities around these travellers come against a resilient backdrop for luxury travel more broadly.

Some 57 per cent of Virtuoso advisors surveyed expect leisure travel demand to increase slightly in 2027, while another 19 per cent expect a significant increase. Meanwhile, 70 per cent expect spending per trip to rise.

Belles told the panel demand and spend were up across Virtuoso’s regions, with travellers continuing to prioritise travel despite wider economic and geopolitical pressures.

“Luxury travel just behaves differently than maybe mass market travel,” Belles said. “We’re insulated.”

Virtuoso itself says one in four Australian luxury travellers has used an advisor in the past year, while the network now counts more than 1,600 advisors across Australia and New Zealand.

For advisors, the opportunity around female travellers therefore extends well beyond simply selling more solo holidays.

Virtuoso’s findings point towards travellers with the independence to travel on their own terms and an appetite for wellness, adventure, cultural immersion and experiences that feel genuinely meaningful.

They might joke about being “invisible”, but the travel industry would be foolish not to see them.