57hours, a platform for booking guided outdoor adventures, has published internal data revealing that women-only trips have become one of the company’s fastest-growing segments. Since the category’s introduction in 2021, the platform has recorded a 13.5x increase in bookings and inquiries for women-only experiences.
First-party data analysing over 80k requests on the 57hours platform reveals women-led adventures as the fastest-growing category. There is a significant demand for “by women, for women” experiences.
Saga Líf, a mountain guide, mother, and business owner in Iceland, increased her revenue 12.5x with an exclusively women-only trip model. She built an all-female guiding team.
In the US, Sunny Stroeer, a mountaineer, founded AWExpeditions in 2018 to make adventure travel more accessible to women. Today, Stroeer’s company runs all-women expeditions on five continents.
Women-only trips attract a wide range of participants, from solo adventurers stepping outside their comfort zones to mothers introducing their daughters to the outdoors. Women now account for 71% of solo travellers globally, according to Virtuoso, and travel companies catering specifically to women have grown by 230%.
Internal metrics from 57hours track the category’s trajectory from its inception through early 2026. It has seen 1,245% growth in four years, as bookings and inquiries for women-only experiences surged from 297 in 2021 to nearly 4,000 in 2024. Page visits and email captures remain three to six times higher.
The growth is not happening by accident. A survey of 1,000 US women found 90% report at least one obstacle to outdoor participation – from social dynamics to lack of experience. Women-only trips, led by female guides and built for female participants, directly remove these hurdles.
“The growth we’re seeing is a correction of an underserved market,” says Viktor Marohnic, founder of 57hours.
“Opening the backcountry to women through women-only trips removes barriers that have kept this demographic on the sidelines. The 12.5x revenue growth from our guides in Iceland proves this is a powerful business model. One where entrepreneurs can build thriving businesses around a segment they’re passionate about.”
