WayAway responds to untapped demand for female-led travel experiences

Website's new feature highlights female-led travel businesses as research shows 87% of female travellers would give preference to it

Travel metasearch website WayAway has introduced a new category on its maps and listings called ‘female traveller approved points of interest’. 

These points of interest could include the fact that the owners, founders, or senior management of a hotel or restaurant or shop are females.

Others may be included as it has a female focus, for example a museum or monument celebrating women. 

Over 100 points of interest were included for the recent launch and with an aim to increase this to thousands by the end of the year. 

WayAway launched this new feature as a direct response to feedback from female users. 

A recent survey on its Instagram account that showed that 87% would 'very likely' choose a hotel labelled women-led over one where the ownership is unknown, with 67% listing 'safety' as the main advantage.

It also found that nearly half would pay 10% more for a female owned or managed hotel.

Janis Dzenis, director of PR of WayAway, said: “By launching the female traveller approved points of interest service we hope firstly to open the door to those who wish to support women-led businesses, but more importantly to allow female travellers to chose travel experiences that are not only perhaps more relevant to them but also, particularly in the case of solo female travellers, in order to feel safer. 

"This is feedback we hear regularly: not enough solo female travellers feel safe when travelling when compared to men. 

“We’d also like to point out that this is not only morally very important, but that businesses who are able to provide a relevant and authentic appeal to female travellers would be tapping into a market that represents half the world’s population – and an audience that is chronically underserved by the travel industry currently. 

"In other words, there’s money to be made here, female entrepreneurs (and those lending money to them) take note. 

“We’re working hard to expand the female traveller approved points of interest listings as quickly as we can, with over 200 on-the-ground WayAway representatives around the world looking out for more already."

This news follows other actions this year from WayAway to improve resources for female travellers, including the introduction of maps that include ‘no go’ areas based on crime figures and user feedback and its ranking of 30 safest cities globally for female solo travellers.