Travel metasearch website WayAway has recently introduced a new category on its maps and listings called ‘female traveller approved points of interest’. These points of interest could include the fact that the owners, founders, or senior management of a hotel or restaurant or shop are females – or simply that the point of interest has a female focus, for example a museum or monument celebrating women.

Over 100 points of interest were included for the recent launch and WayAway aims to increase this into the low thousands by the close of the year.

Examples of inclusions might be hotels such as the Carpenter Hotel  in Texas or the Peter & Paul hotel in New Orleans or the Saint Claude Social Club also in the same city, all of which are owned by female founders.

WayAway has launched this new feature as a direct response to feedback from female users, including a recent survey on its Instagram account that showed that:

• 87% would’very likely’ choose a hotel labelled women-led over one where the ownership is unknown.
• 67% felt’safety’ would be the main advantage.
• Nearly half wouldpay 10% more for a female owned or managed hotel.

WayAway’s Director of PR, Janis Dzenis comments: “By launching the female traveller approved points of interest service we hope firstly to open the door to those who wish to support women-led businesses, but more importantly to allow female travellers to chose travel experiences that are not only perhaps more relevant to them but also, particularly in the case of solo female travellers, in order to feel safer. This is feedback we hear regularly: not enough solo female travellers feel safe when travelling when compared to men.

 “We’d also like to point out that this is not only morally very important, but that businesses who are able to provide a relevant and authentic appeal to female travellers would be tapping into a market that represents half the world’s population – and an audience that is chronically underserved by the travel industry currently. In other words, there’s money to be made here, female entrepreneurs (and those lending money to them!) take note.

“We’re working hard to expand the female traveller approved points of interest listings as quickly as we can – with over 200 on-the-ground WayAway representatives around the world looking out for more already – and hope to have around the low thousands of inclusions by the year end.”

This news follows other actions this year from WayAway to improve resources for female travellers, including the introduction of maps that include ‘no go’ areas based on crime figures and user feedback – as well as producing a ranking of the 30 safest cities globally for female solo travellers.