Solo travel is more than just a fad. More and more people every year are choosing to travel alone, whether to have ultimate freedom over their itinerary, to push themselves into new experiences or because their family and friends can’t travel as flexibly as they can.
In the U.S. alone, the solo travel market was valued at $95 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach over $190 billion by 2030, according to Research and Markets[1].
Safari company Go2Africa, saw a distinct increase in travelers choosing to explore the world independently, so to understand this growing demographic, they analyzed their own internal data, as well as third parties, to see how solo people are choosing to travel.
Solo Travel More Popular Than Ever Before
Although interest in solo travel has grown steadily for years, the trend shows no sign of slowing down. Data from Google Trends and Glimpse reveals that searches for solo travel have increased year-on-year since 2004, with only a brief dip during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
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Overall, interest has risen by 230.6% over the past decade alone, since 2016. Solo travel also reached its highest recorded peak this year, with the term “solo travel” generating 1.6 million searches worldwide between January 18th and February 14th 2026.
In the United States, the highest current searches for ‘solo travel’ happened in June of 2025. However, this accomplishment is expected to be beaten in June 2026 with monthly searches predicting to reach over 8,000. Search interest was strongest in a number of states, including North Dakota, Vermont, and Arkansas.
Half of Solo Safari Travelers Originate From the USA
Where these solo travelers originate from also reveals some interesting statistics. The biggest number of solo travelers came from the United States, a country representing over 50% of customers and seeing a 26.26% increase from 2024 to 2025. Not only is the U.S. the dominant source market for solo travel, but it is also one of the fastest-growing, reinforcing its position as a key driver of demand.
This is followed by Australia, where solo travelers saw an impressive 119.80% year-on-year increase in interest in solo trips. Canada remained relatively stable, only seeing a slight decline of -0.22% in solo travel demand, while the United Kingdom recorded a significant rise of 101.72% between 2024 and 2025, highlighting strong growth across key English-speaking markets.
United States – 55.60% of enquiries
Australia – 9.96% of enquiries
Canada – 6.90% of enquiries
United Kingdom – 4.39% of enquiries
Mexico – 3.01% of enquiries
California, Florida and Texas Lead in Total Volume
When looking more closely at the U.S., certain states stand out as producing a higher share of solo travelers than others.
Within the U.S., the highest volume of solo travel enquiries comes from California, Florida, and Texas, reflecting their large populations and strong overall travel demand. These states consistently act as key source markets for international travel, and solo travel is no exception.
California – 14.55% of enquiries
Florida – 8.34% of enquiries
Texas – 7.95% of enquiries
New York – 7.50% of enquiries
Illinois – 4.62% of enquiries
However, when the data is normalised for population size, a different picture emerges. The District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Nevada, and Delaware show the highest levels of solo travel interest per capita, followed closely by New York and California. This suggests that smaller or more densely urbanised states, in particular, may have a stronger propensity toward independent travel, potentially driven by lifestyle factors, higher mobility, and a greater appetite for experiential travel.
District of Columbia – 6.20 enquiries per 100k people
Rhode Island – 3.01 enquiries per 100k people
Nevada – 2.93 enquiries per 100k people
Delaware – 2.77 enquiries per 100k people
New York – 2.71 enquiries per 100k people
To explore the data study in full, visit Go2Africa.
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Sources:
1. https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/6062516/u-s-solo-travel-market-size-share-and-trends
Methodology:
To create the Luxury Solo Travel Report, Go2Africa analyzed a combination of proprietary customer insights and third-party search data to uncover emerging behaviours and travel trends. The proprietary analysis included traveler demographics, enquiry trends, trip duration, and countries of origin. Google Trends was used to examine global interest in the term “solo travel”, while KeywordTool.io provided search volume data for “solo travel” across each U.S. state. All data was analyzed in May 2026.
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