BENGALURU: According to a study conducted by Zostel, a Gurgaon-based hostel company, they give out around 5 lakh room nights a year in the country. Of these, 17.7 per cent have been from Karnataka, and 16.5 per cent of overall bookings have been made by women from Bengaluru, mostly solo travellers.
The top three cities of Zostel customers in order are Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai, followed by Pune and Chennai. There has also been a 399 per cent rise in the number of female travellers since 2015, out of which, there is an increase of 322 per cent in the number of female solo travellers.
The data also shows that Gokarna, Bir, Manali, Rishikesh, Panchgani, Pushkar, Dharamshala and Chikkamagaluru are some of the most popular destinations among women travellers.
Backpacking isn’t something new to people but women have always faced a sense of insecurity when it comes to travelling alone. Until a few years ago, there were fewer backpacking hostels and solo women travellers. However, with the availability of safe and economical lodging options, the trend of solo travel and group trips is rapidly gaining popularity among women.
“When we began this, the most common perception that I faced was that Indian girls don’t travel, and definitely don’t stay in a shared hostel dorm. Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, it is these preconceived notions of society that really drive you forward,” Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, CEO of Zostel said about women backpackers.
Nandita Ahala, a solo traveller for the past four years, said she has been to five states.
“When you decide to travel, you have to ensure that everything is in place, like accommodation, transport, security of the place, etc. It is important to create a community with other backpackers so you know what you’re getting into before reaching your destination,” she said, adding that women have become more confident and bold when it comes to solo-travelling.
Group travel among women has also been on the rise, registering a growth of around 197 per cent in the same time period. Group bookings also accounted for 61 per cent of all bookings made by women.
With the average age of women travellers booking with Zostel ranging from 18 to 30 years, new-age women seem to be leading this change in travel dynamics.