Excerpted from the introduction to Marybeth Bond's books and from articles she's written on the subject of "Women Travelers"

Women—young, old, single, married, and widowed are fueling an explosive growth in the travel industry. More women are traveling, for business and for pleasure.

72 million US women traveled during the past year. (According to a Travel Industry of America survey 9/2001).

Of those who currently take nature, adventure or cultural trips, 75% are women.

Ten years ago, there were no such statistics. Now we know that the average adventure traveler is not a 28-year old male, but a 47-year-old female. And she wears a size 12 dress.

Last year women spent $55-billion in Outdoor Equipment, from hiking boots to specialized bike seats designed for the female anatomy.

The number of women-only tour operators has increased 230% in the past six years.

70% of all travel decisions are made by women,

Regardless of:

• who they travel with,
• who pays for the trip,
• or where they go,

A woman is the decision maker.

In order to substantiate this statistic (from an article in the LA Times), I contacted the owner of a very large travel agency in California. She has over 25 years of experience and employs over 30 agents. She surveyed her agents and responded:

"Yes, your statistics are right on. 70- 75% of the decision makers we deal with are women."

70% of all travel decisions are made by women. For example:

• Mom researches and then books the summer vacation for the entire family;
• Grandma surfs the Internet, collects brochures, books tickets and accommodations for a multi-generational family reunion at a resort;
• A middle age empty-nester books a five-day hiking trip with friends while her husband is golfing.