Women are sick of staying at home. At least, that is what figures suggest. Ten years ago, for every 100 women who headed overseas on a trip, 117 men also jetted off. These days, that number is down to 110. Numbers only tell part of the story, however. The skew towards male travellers – reflecting that more men than women travel for business – disguises the fact that when it comes to holidays, it is often women calling the shots.
Women are estimated to make more than 80 per cent of the decisions when it comes to household purchases, and travel is no different, with women typically doing much of the planning and booking. "Definitely more women than men do the organising," says Claudia Rossi Hudson of Mary Rossi Travel.
As a result, travel trends tend to reflect women's interests. Booming areas such as culinary holidays, voluntourism and cultural tourism are all driven by female demand. Even in traditionally male areas such as adventure holidays, women are shaking things up.