The rise of the single sex holiday

A quarter (8.6 million) of Britons have taken a single sex vacation in the last year according to new research from Halifax Travel Insurance.

There is a growing trend for men and women only holidays, with 67% of Britons more likely to go on a vacation with friends of the same sex than they were five years ago. One-in-four (26%) men have been on a single gender holiday in the last twelve months compared with 19% of women.

Despite almost a million Britons admitting they were not allowed to go on a single sex holiday last year, the growing trend is for men and women to go it alone. Reasons women gave included; “feeling more comfortable sunbathing with female friends” and “I see my husband 51 weeks a year, sometimes it's nice to have a break.” Explanations men gave for taking single sex holidays included statements such as, “I don't get along with my best mate's girlfriend”.

Britons’ primary reason for choosing a single sex holiday was to catch up with friends (36%), while stag and hen parties accounted for a quarter (25%) of these trips. 14% embarked on a single sex holiday because their friends of the opposite sex didn’t like the type of holiday they had chosen. Escaping work issues accounted for 7% of these vacations. Relationship issues prompted many people to holiday with friends of the same sex, with 4% travelling to escape a partner and 3% vacationing to get over a break-up.”

Vicky Watson at Halifax Travel Insurance, said: “The rise of single sex holidays shows there is an increased appetite for holidaying with friends of the same sex. This can be attributed to people feeling more comfortable when holidaying with friends of the same gender. For example, many women feel more comfortable sunbathing surrounded by female rather than male friends. While the rise in foreign stag parties helps account for the rise in all male holidays. However, these holidays are not just taken by the 18-30 generation looking to party abroad; increasing numbers of older travellers are opting to holiday exclusively with friends of their own gender.”

“It is important holidaymakers whether travelling in single sex parties or mixed groups consider their travel insurance before vacationing. Holidaymakers without insurance could find themselves liable for expensive medical bills abroad or the cost of replacing lost luggage and vital travel documents.”

The top travel peril for those taking a single sex holiday in the last twelve months was lost luggage, which accounted for 43% of problems. A further 10% of these holidaymakers lost travel documents. Almost twenty percent of single sex holidaymakers said they had incurred the wrath of a holiday rep whilst on their vacation and worryingly 3% said a member of their party had been in trouble with the local law enforcement.

A significant number of holidaymakers also prefer to travel alone, with one-in-ten Briton’s travelling independently in the last twelve months. Almost one in five (18%) of those aged 55-64 have only holidayed alone during the period.

People living in Greater London were the most likely (29%) to take a single sex holiday in the last twelve months. People living in Wales and the West were the least likely, with just 14% of people in the region enjoying this type of holiday.