“They often feel discriminated against,” said Melanie Carter, when revealing that she & two fellow Personal Travel Managers (PTMs) had launched a niche product catering to solo travellers called ‘SoloMade Travel Community’.
The brainchild of Personal Travel Managers and Travel Advisors Melanie Carter, Rachael Portelli and Alyssa Pretorius, SoloMade went live on 1 July 2019 with the intention of filling a hole in the ever-growing solo travel market.
Speaking to KARRYON at the TravelManagers Conference in Perth, Carter said the trio saw in their own databases and the scene at large that there’s a common sense of discrimination against solos who say they often feel as though they’re punished for choosing to travel alone.
She continued, saying that there’s also a number of individual travellers who want to hit the road alone “but not necessarily always alone”.
“A lot of people are travelling alone right now and that number is growing.”
Melanie Carter, Personal Travel Manager & SoloMade Co-Founder
Image: Jérémie Crémer/Unsplash
And she isn’t wrong. According to Consumer Futurist Amanda Stevens, for the first time in history, there are more single-female households in Australia than non-single female households.
As a result of this trend, more 25-40-year-old females are travelling solo, as are the over 50-year-old females.
“There is a huge opportunity to cater to solos and more importantly, we ourselves have done solo travel and have the experience to sell it.”
Melanie Carter, SoloMade Co-Founder
But don’t worry men, SoloMade caters to all travellers so long as they’re hitting the road solo.
WHAT TYPES OF TOURS WILL SOLOMADE OFFER TRAVELLERS?
Image: Hưng Nguyễn Việt/Unsplash
SoloMade opened with the sale of a 12-night Vietnam Tour departing (I just need more information on this tour please).
Carter said that the trip has already experienced strong demand and prompted the trio to plan eight more for 2020 and beyond.
“We’ll be running a SoloMade Expo in March next year, where people will be able to hear about all our trip, visit supplier booths and attend supplier presentations.”
Melanie Carter, SoloMade Co-Founder
Click here for more information on SoloMade.
