The Solo Traveler World 2024 Reader Survey is the 12th annual iteration of one of the longest-running solo travel datasets — and it confirms what most industry observers already see in their booking data. 80%+ of solo travellers are women. Older travellers dominate the sample. And the market is growing fast.
But the more interesting finding is from a different dataset entirely: Booking.com's 2024 platform data shows 63% of men plan solo travel, slightly higher than the 54% of women. That's a gap-closing signal worth understanding — and a useful frame for solo Vietnam trip planning whether you're a first-timer or a 10-trip veteran.
What the data shows
Solo Traveler World 2024 Reader Survey (n=2,400)
| Finding | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Respondents identifying as women | 80%+ |
| Majority age range | 55+ |
| Took 3+ trips in past year | 43% |
| Trips lasting 2+ weeks | 75% |
| Prefer escorted tours some/all the time | 90% |
| Top motivation: see more without waiting for others | 59% |
| Value freedom and flexibility | 45% |
| Seek relaxation and unwinding | 61% |
The skew matters: this is a sample of engaged solo travellers — people who read solo-travel content and complete annual surveys. The hard female skew is partly sample-driven, but the cross-validation with other sources (Overseas Adventure Travel's 85% female; the women-only dorm rooms in every backpacker-hub Asian city; homestay operator reports) confirms that the population skew, not just the survey skew, is heavily female.
Booking.com 2024 — the gender-gap-closing signal
| Metric | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Men actively planning solo travel | 63% |
| Women actively planning solo travel | 54% |
This is the most counter-intuitive finding in current solo-travel research. It doesn't contradict the 80%+ female share of current solo travellers — that population was built up over 15 years of female-skewed flow. What it suggests is that on the new-entrant margin, men are now slightly more likely than women to plan solo trips, even if the existing population remains female-heavy.
Generational mix
| Cohort | Solo travel engagement |
|---|---|
| Gen Z + Millennials (2025 data) | 76% plan solo travel |
| Baby Boomers (2018 baseline) | 40% took solo trips in past year |
| Millennials (2017 baseline) | 58% willing to travel alone |
| Older generations (2017 baseline) | 47% willing to travel alone |
The directional movement: every age cohort is more solo-travel-engaged than the same cohort was 5–8 years ago. Younger cohorts are now substantially more open to solo travel than the same age groups were pre-pandemic.
Market sizing
- U.S. solo travel market: $94.88B (2024), growing 12.4% annually through 2030.
- Global solo travel market: $482.34B (2024), projected $1.07T by 2030.
The growth rate exceeds general tourism by a factor of 2–3x.
What this means for your trip
1. Solo travel in Vietnam is overwhelmingly common — for women, much more than men currently expect
If you're a woman planning a solo Vietnam trip, you'll be in plentiful company. Most cooking classes, hostel dorms, and small-group day tours run with majority-female solo participants. Operators have largely calibrated their experience designs (women-only dorm options, room-pairing for solo travellers without single-supplement penalty, host-family screening for safety perception) to reflect this skew.
If you're a man planning a solo Vietnam trip, you'll be slightly less common in the field — but the demand-side data suggests this is changing fast. Don't expect to see a male-majority anywhere in the next 5 years; do expect operators to adjust amenities and pricing as more men enter the market.
2. The 55+ skew is real — Vietnam is a strong fit
Solo Traveler World's data, OAT's data, and most cruise operators' data all show solo travel concentrated in the 55+ bracket. Vietnam is well-positioned for this demographic:
- Reliable infrastructure — major cities have functional hospitals, English-speaking staff at mid-range hotels and above, and modern transport options (high-speed rail, domestic flights, organised cruise lines).
- Walkable old towns — Hoi An, Hanoi Old Quarter, Hue's imperial citadel are small enough to navigate without exhaustion or stress.
- Spread of luxury options — solo travellers willing to spend on comfort have meaningful choice in Phu Quoc, Da Nang, and around Ha Long Bay.
- Cultural norms — Vietnamese cultural respect for older guests is genuine and consistent. Older solo travellers are treated with care across the country.
For a 55+ first-timer, our 14-day Vietnam itinerary is the most-recommended starting point.
3. The 90% "prefer escorted tours" finding is meaningful for itinerary choice
90% of Solo Traveler World 2024 respondents said they preferred escorted tours at least some of the time — not as a replacement for independent travel, but as one option in their toolkit. The pattern:
- Multi-day adventures (Mekong Delta multi-day, Ha Giang Loop motorbike tour, Phong Nha cave systems) — escorted tours dominate because logistics are genuinely complex.
- Cultural deep-dives (cooking classes, ethnic-village homestays, history-focused day tours) — escort/host adds value.
- City exploration (Hanoi, HCMC, Hoi An, Da Nang) — most solo travellers prefer fully independent navigation here.
For solo travellers, the practical mix is roughly 60% independent + 40% escorted across a 2-week trip. The 90% comfort-with-escort statistic is more about removing the social pressure to "go it fully alone" than about strict tour preference.
4. The 75% "trips 2+ weeks long" figure aligns well with Vietnam's geography
Solo travellers take longer trips on average than couples or families. Vietnam's 1,700-km north-to-south span rewards the longer trip — 2 weeks lets you see two regions properly, 3 weeks lets you see three.
If you're newer to Vietnam, our 14-day itinerary hits the highest-confidence picks. If you have 3+ weeks, add Ha Giang (5 days), Phong Nha (3–4 days), Da Lat or Buon Ma Thuot in the Central Highlands, and a real Mekong Delta multi-day stay (4–5 days).
5. The market growth means more solo-friendly product appearing in 2026–2027
The 12.4% U.S. CAGR and 11–13% global CAGR in solo-travel spending is feeding new product development. Expect through 2026–2027:
- More single-supplement-free small-group tours in Vietnam (Vietnamese operators are picking up this design from European operators).
- Solo-traveller-specific apps and meetup platforms for Vietnam-based solo travellers (already exist; will get better).
- Expanded women-only dorm and tour options in Hanoi, HCMC, Hoi An, and Da Lat.
If you're booking a 2026 trip, look for "solo-friendly" or "single-supplement-waived" branding — it's a real signal that the operator has thought about the design.
Limitations & caveats
- Solo Traveler World is a community-engaged sample, not a population-level random sample. The 80%+ female finding is consistent with multiple other industry data points, but a true population sample would likely show a less extreme skew.
- The Booking.com 2024 male-engagement finding is intent, not behaviour. "Men plan solo travel" doesn't mean they actually take solo trips. The gap between intent and follow-through is well-documented in travel research.
- Surveys self-select for engagement. Solo travellers who fill out a 12th annual reader survey are more likely to be repeat solo travellers than newcomers. Share-of-female may be overstated by sample composition.
- The 2024 survey is U.S.-skewed. Vietnamese domestic solo travellers are not in the sample, and their behaviour may differ.
- The Vietnam-specific solo-travel safety inferences are drawn from companion data, not from the Solo Traveler World survey directly. See our solo female travel safety summary for the more Vietnam-specific evidence.
Sources & further reading
- Primary source: Solo Traveler World — Solo Travel Statistics, Data 2024–2025 — annual reader survey results plus aggregated industry data.
- Booking.com 2024 traveller intent data: Travel Predictions 2025 (global findings).
- Companion data: Solo Female Travelers Club 2024 Report — focused specifically on solo female travel.
Related on this site:
- Solo female travel safety in Vietnam — the Vietnam-specific safety angle
- 14 days in Vietnam — the most-recommended first-trip itinerary
- Booking.com 2025 Vietnamese traveller survey — companion consumer-behaviour research