Resumen de Female Travel Trends: A Look Back To The Future
Changes in trend patterns in travel behavior among women from 1993 through 2003 were examined to determine how and when travel behavior has changed. The marital status and age of women were examined to determine if these changes can be identifi ed. The travel behavior variables examined included US domestic travel, travel for pleasure, travel for business, foreign travel, frequent fl yer travel program participation, cruise ship travel, and second home ownership. A classifi cation system was developed to categorize the trend statistics and patterns. Travel participation was examined by number of households, participation rates, and market indexing. The specifi c research questions of this study were: 1) has female travel increased; 2) are there differences by household confi gurations (single vs. married) that affect women�s travel participation; and 3) when age is included in the household confi gurations for women, are travel trends in participation observed? Overall, four of seven travel variables experienced overall growth and of these four, two activities experienced substantial growth (foreign travel and frequent fl yer program participation). Two activities actually declined (pleasure and business travel), and one activity remained relatively unchanged over the period (second home ownership). These patterns of change in travel behavior were different by married and single households and by age categories. The number of single female households grew in three travel activities:
US domestic, foreign, and substantially in frequent fl yer program travel participation. The number of married households grew for US domestic travel, but grew substantially for foreign, cruise ship, and frequent fl yer program participation. The impact of 9/11 was reviewed and the trends in travel by marital status and age found the largest substantial changes among married and single women ages 45 to 64. Substantial growth in frequent fl yer program participation was noted across all martial and age categories for women. Increases in selected travel pursuits among single female households were found and support does appear to exist for the evolution of the �solo female travel market.�
