It’s an expression that never hurts singles or lonely souls: “Better to be alone than in bad company”. For some, this maxim also applies to departure times: 12% of French holidaymakers had decided to leave alone in 2022, according to a survey by Europ Assistance and Ipsos*. The choice can be voluntary – pleasure version of finding yourself far away from others – or forced – ha, the breakup a week before the holidays (we’ve been there, we sympathize). But decision affirmed or suffered, a constant remains: the holidays in solo return Dear.
According to a study by UFC-Que Choisir ** on 86 types of stays, holidays cost on average 53% more expensive by being alone than in a duo. “Since I was a widower, the rates for ‘singles’ have been crazy. First of all, we must forget the very principle of boat cruises. Apart from a single Norwegian, no cruise line considers us other than a cash cow,” testifies Michel, 73, who responded to our call for testimonials.
Ceiling prices
Still according to the UFC Que-choisir study, a cruise costs 92% more for a single person, or almost double. This is by far the most disadvantageous mode of travel. Combined trips (all-inclusive flight and hotel) abroad apply an average additional cost of 52%, and holiday clubs in France are overcharged by 33%. For a club abroad, with the flight included in the price, count + 37%.
Of course, some price increases are just plain logic. “We cannot divide the cost of petrol, tolls…”, recalls Danièle Küss, tourism expert and former head of the International Tourism Development Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The same goes for a hotel room: two of you pay for a single bathroom, a single toilet… Nevertheless, even taking into account this pragmatic excuse, “the prices are exorbitant, more than they should not, ”denounces the specialist.
“Socially, it is frowned upon to travel alone”
“When we travel alone, nothing is ever thought of for us,” laments Clémentine, 29. Don’t leave her with loneliness: yes, she is in a relationship and can count on lots of friends. But this year, she wanted to go on a roaming hike, “to find herself and take stock of (her) life for the transition to her thirties. “Love yourself a little, a lot, passionately… and pay madly. Because, with the price of hotels or lodgings in its path, “introspection is expensive. Many accommodations do not offer single rooms, and you pay for two. And those who offer them have prices barely 10 or 15 euros cheaper than a normal room, at 60 euros instead of 70.”
This is because holidays alone remain a blind spot in tourism. “There is this image of sociability and sharing, travel as a couple, with friends or family”, develops Sandra Hoibian, director of the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Credoc). “Beyond economic issues, it is socially ill-considered to travel alone, underlines Danièle Küss. We are badly received in the restaurant when we ask for a table only for ourselves, frowned upon when we go alone…”
A lack of solo infrastructure
Célyne, 45, also notes the lack of logistics provided for people traveling only with herself. She planned to go to Canada next year, initially with her cousin, who eventually had to give up. Too bad for family time, and too bad for the budget: “The trip costs me between 470 and 750 euros more, because supplement for the single room – there are only rooms for two, testifies- She. There is also a supplement for the snowmobile activity if I can’t find anyone the same day. ” Activities and accommodation planned as a duo which end up exasperating him: “I find it very unfair because in the end, we have a smaller budget alone and it is as if we had to pay for it. »
However, it would be necessary to live with the times, notes Sandra Hoibian: “A third of households live alone, there are more and more periods of single life in the course of life, longer and longer. Offers should follow this statistical reality. “Especially since the aging of the population inevitably leads to” an increase in widowed people, adds Danièle Küss. If holidays alone are already an unthought, what about holidays for seniors alone? »
What tourism for tomorrow?
Slowly things are changing. “There are more and more solo offers in travel companies, hotel or cruise offers. Nevertheless, this remains a minority – and often targeted. For example, it will only be accommodation for solo people, ”notes Sandra Hoibian. Claire, 34, recognizes this: “By looking a lot, you end up finding options, but these are still forced choices. We no longer think about where we want to go, but where we can go alone without breaking the bank too much. For Michel, it’s about getting by: he no longer goes through formulas but takes his car, his reservation, his plane flight, which allows him to limit financial damage.
More than the rise of personal development and other concepts of “self love”, it is above all the financial opportunity that should move the world of tourism. In essence, the single traveler is much more flexible on his vacation periods, enough to lengthen the tourist season if this new type of tourism finds a suitable offer. “We could imagine special packages only for the off-season period and outside school holidays,” says Danièle Küss. Rather than being subjected to today’s prices, the solo traveler would then be tomorrow’s financial windfall.
* 2022 edition of the Europ Assistance and Ipsos Holiday Barometer, carried out in 15 countries, including France. In each country, 1,000 consumers aged 18 and over participated in an online questionnaire. The survey was conducted between April 26 and May 16.
**Prices recorded between June 21 and July 9, 2019, for one-week stays in the second half of 2019, with some exceptions, to the following destinations (variable depending on the type of stay): Alps, Atlantic, Brittany, Corsica, PACA and Americas, Asia, Caribbean, Northern Europe, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Mediterranean, Iberian Peninsula, Tunisia. The price statements concern: Belambra, Club Med, Costa Cruises, Disneyland Paris, Fram, Futuroscope, Look Voyages, Marmara, MSC Cruises, Yes SNCF, Parc Astérix, Promovacances, Puy du Fou, Royal Caribbean, Thomas Cook, TUI, Voyage Private.