AARP Travel Research: Girls & Guys Getaways

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Among the 45-plus leisure travel audience who has recently taken a Girls or Guys Getaway trip, it has become a part of their lifestyle.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Women are more likely to embark on a Girls Getaway than men are to take such a trip.  GenXers are more likely than Baby Boomers. Of those who have recently taken a Girls/Guys Getaway, it is a routine trip taken at least once a year.
  
  
• A Girls/Guys Getaway is typically a trip with 5-7 life-long friends and/or family members to a U.S. city, stretching anywhere from 2-6 days.
  
  
• While women are motivated by the sheer desire to get together with girlfriends, men lean upon common sport interests (e.g. golf) or the desire to fulfill “a tradition” for their inspiration for such trips. Hence why men’s trips are more likely to be an annual trip and why a large percent of women’s trips (26%) are spontaneous.
  
  
• The majority of travelers will check in with their significant other and will share the details of the trip. And although their activities may be different on a Girls/Guys Getaway then they are on a trip with their significant other, they do not have a preference for one type of trip over the other.
  
  
• The biggest barrier to planning a Girls/Guys Getaway is getting everyone to agree on a date.  And although some information on good/inexpensive destinations for groups is welcomed, it doesn’t appear these tactics will greatly encourage these travelers anymore than they already are to partake in such trips in the future.

A 12-minute online survey was conducted among 1,227 males and females age 45-plus who have taken at least one Guys/Girls Getaway in the past 2 years or plan to take a Guys/Girls Getaway in the next year. The survey was fielded from July 31 through August 13, 2015.  Final data has been weighted to the U.S. Census for analysis. For more information contact Vicki Gelfeld at VGelfeld@aarp.org.