The number of people in their forties signing up to try their hand at travel dating has increased four-fold in the past six months, according to travel dating website and app tourbar.com. The rising figure, from 4,000 to 16,192, proves that the social media trend and the rising popularity of travelling alone isn’t just for younger travellers.
According to TourBar, a social media network and mobile app that aims to match solo travellers with a travel companion, those aged 45-50 now account for 17.6%% of TourBar’s 98,000 worldwide members. In the UK, members aged 45-50 represent 10.3%% of those who have signed up to try their hand at travel dating in the past year.
Why? Well it seems the time of year can have a huge effect on reaching out to find a companion. For example, in October 2014, 4,000 TourBar members fell into the 45-50 age bracket but this figure now stands at 16,192 thanks to a continued month on month rise in sign ups. December 2014 saw a 55%% rise on the previous month’s members aged 45-50 suggesting that as the year drew to close, travellers were starting to think ahead to the new year and planning their holidays for 2015. The number of those signing up in this age category for December 2014 was also more than in any other age bracket.
TourBar members create an online profile outlining their upcoming solo travel plans in the hope of meeting someone with similar interests to join them on their trip. Alternatively, for those with no immediate travel plans, users can still meet companions by registering to become city guides in their home cities for visiting solo travellers.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) claims that 13%%*1 of all travel is now done solo, with hotel provider Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ (SLH) seeing growth in the number of single-occupancy rooms booked between 2011 and 2012, rise from 4115 to 5841.
TourBar’s Public Relations Manager, Anastasia Zolotova, added: “Month on month, we have seen the number of people aged 45-50 signing up to TourBar rise at an impressive rate. Our mobile website and app are quick and easy to use, and our users feel an increased sense of security thanks to our three-stage member verification process. We’re confident that the popularity of TourBar will continue to grow for those in their forties during 2015 as more and more travellers in this age range embrace technology to help fulfil their wish to find a like-minded travel companion.”
*1 According to the ABTA Consumer Holiday Trends Report 2014
For more information or to request interviews, please contact:
McCluskey International
Fiona Anderson / Lauren Hill
tourbar@mccluskey.co.uk
0208 747 2170
