More travelers are expected to go solo in 2023.
According to Ohio University’s Office of Global Opportunities, solo travel has unique benefits, such as not having to plan around anyone else’s schedule, meeting new people, and growing outside of your comfort zone.
According to an August 2022 report from WTM Global Hub, Google searches for solo travel have quadrupled since 2020. Solo travel was already on the rise in 2022, according to Travel Pulse, and interest in adventuring alone is expected to continue to increase next year. According to Kayak, searches for single-traveler flights are 36% higher for 2023 travel than for 2022 travel.
Data collected by travel company Go Ahead Tours shows that the top trending destinations for solo travelers are Spain, Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and Australia.
This begs the question, would you go solo? Perhaps it is/was easier for me since I did so much business travel back in the 80s.
As you already know, it is difficult to find the perfect travel mate. My travel buddy, Mr. Mike is just about the perfect travel buddy. We are not joined at the hip, stay in separate rooms,, and often venture off on our own. We generally have breakfast and dinner together. In between, he may venture off on foot, while I may head to a famous historic site or museum. Once in a while, we do the hop on hop off bus if we are in a new city. Best of all, we never, I repeat never, sit at dinner and calculate the bill. Our premise is simple! At the end of the trip, f we are within a few hundred dollars of each other, all is well!
But the reason I love solo travel so much is meeting new people, making new friends, and visiting old friends. I can proudly say I have friends all over the world, places like Cape Town, Penang, KL, Lisbon, Bangkok, Siem Reap, Split, Tokyo, Lima, Paris, and Athens.
My first trip to Europe ended up a disaster. I chose a fraternity brother who was well versed in wine, music, and fine arts. It was a big mistake. I felt the need to connect with other young people. And I got tired of dressing up for dinner and classical music concerts in the evening. But as a family-oriented email, I won’ tell you what I did instead!
Regardless of your situation, I strongly suggest embarking on a solo trip, even for a short weekend or a month in Asia, South America or Africa. You will learn more about yourself than you ever imagined and become richer for the experience!
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