The Women's Travel Market

The travel industry is a $541 billion industry with women comprising 40% of its travelers. Women business travelers have increased by 5000% since 1970, comprising 40% of all business travelers today. Women also influence 80% of all family and leisure travel.

This is due to the influx of working women which began in the late '60s. Women now comprise more than half of the U.S. labor force with more than 9 million owning their own businesses, contributing $3.6 trillion to the national economy.

Women also do more research online than ever making up more than 54% of online users according to recent report by abcnews.com. This number is expected to continue to increase at a steady pace.

Hotels, resorts, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and airlines have recognized a significant increase in women travelers, and begun specific marketing programs to them, especially the hotel industry. There has been a considerable increase in amenities, services and accommodations that cater to women travelers. However, reaching this audience with their "special promotions" has been limited, as there have been limited mediums to target the female traveler.

Industry leaders recognize the substantial consumer power behind the women's market and have subsequently created significant marketing and advertising programs to reach them. Both the travel and auto industries continue to vacillate between women's magazines, websites, events, and TV to gain the competitive edge but to no avail.

RTM has emerged as the only medium to directly target and focus on the women's travel and auto markets providing multimedia venues through which companies can reach this targeted audience. Venues include an extensive online magazine, speaking engagements, event marketing, and satellite media tours. [Press Kit]

In order to succeed in marketing to women companies must focus on what women want and then market their products and services to those emotional needs. Women identify more closely with ads that are geared towards their lifestyles as opposed to a generic or male audience. Women reject pink marketing campaigns that condescend to them. As a leading authority in this area, RTM offers consulting services on how to market to women.