When Angela Hughes, CEO of Trips & Ships Luxury Travel relaunched Women Who Wander in late July she wasn’t expecting the groundswell of interest that followed, but the response was nearly immediate.
Within days, her Facebook-based community for solo female travelers ballooned from 300 members to over 1,400 (and counting).
Within hours of the announcement on LinkedIn, Hughes had suppliers like Cunard, G Adventures, Going Nepal, and The Travel Corporation already reaching out to her. The initiative is fast becoming more than just a passion project, and could be an untapped commercial ecosystem in the making.
But Hughes didn’t create Women Who Wander to chase industry trends. The intent behind it was much more personal, and powerful.
The idea actually came to mind years ago, and was rooted in trauma. After her husband suffered two near-fatal anaphylactic episodes, Hughes had a sobering realization.
“I was driving to the hospital thinking, ‘I’m about to be widowed at 48,’” she recalled. “That’s when it hit me: I needed to be able to stand on my own two feet. Financially, emotionally, and in life.”
(Trips & Ships Luxury Travel)
The initial version of Women Who Wander began pre-Covid, but the pandemic forced Hughes to put it on hold. Now it’s reemerged with the clarity and urgency of someone who knows what it means to almost lose everything.
In short, it was built to address something deeper: a shifting reality for women aged 45 and up who have the means, the mindset, and the desire to travel their way.
“I’m happily married,” she said, “but I’m also the demographic I serve. My husband’s in his 50s and deep in his career. He doesn’t always want to go on a trip with me, and I don’t want to wait until he retires.”
According to a number of recent reports, as high as 70% of solo travelers are women, and Google searches for “solo female travel” grew 130% year-over-year.
Industry brands are responding. UniWorld, Aurora Expeditions, and Silversea have all introduced solo pricing, and Hughes is now fielding supplier interest as fast as she can answer DMs.
“I posted about the relaunch and Elizabeth (Bartle) Fettes from Cunard messaged me directly on LinkedIn,” said Hughes. “She asked if we could do a fam trip or collaborate in some way. That wasn’t necessarily on my radar, but it shows how this resonates.”
While many travel brands are chasing younger generations on Instagram or TikTok, Women Who Wander is planting roots where its audience already lives: on Facebook.
“This demographic is 45+, high-income, and comprises professionals in the STEM fields,” Hughes said. “They’re not just scrolling. They’re booking.”
“She’s created something truly special with Women Who Wander,” added Sheila Folk of Travel Industry Solutions, a B2B platform that addresses legal and operational risks for travel agencies. “Angela’s vision brings women together who might otherwise be waiting on the sidelines, giving us a welcoming space to embrace our independence and explore the world with confidence and friendship.”
Despite the early momentum, Hughes isn’t rushing to monetize the community. For now, Women Who Wander is about engagement with social posts, trip inspiration, and group introductions.
“The goal is to create a joyful space,” she said. “One that reminds women they’re not doing this alone, but also shows them they can do it on their own.”
Hughes hopes to scale the group to 5,000 members by the end of the year not through mass-market appeal, but by curating a high-intent audience.
“We don’t need 50,000 people,” she said. “We need 5,000 who want to go and participate and who want to find a community that gets them.”
It almost sounds like Hughes is taking a page out of Reese Witherspoon’s book (club), prioritizing testing over traditional business development practices.
But for someone who is always on-the-go, Hughes can’t help but ideate. Inspiration and new trips are already in development, having launched two offers with UniWorld and HX for last-minute solo pricing this summer. Group departures hosted by Hughes herself are planned for later this year and next. The long-term vision is to extend into multi-generational and niche travel as well.
“We’re already seeing it in our agency,” she said. “‘Girls’ weekends in the Caribbean, women’s yacht trips in Croatia, expeditions… Some of our best repeat clients started with one of these itineraries.”
Women Who Wander might have started with travel, but its future looks more expansive.
Hughes sees opportunities to build out supplier relations, for brand partnerships, personal development content, even real-life meetups and mentorship.
“We’re developing a community, not necessarily just a sales track,” she said.
The rationale came from a recent moment in Tahiti when Hughes witnessed a 90-year-old woman traveling alone with her caretaker. Perhaps clairvoyantly, the woman asked to touch the ocean one last time.
“She just wanted to feel the water,” Hughes said. “I watched her get wheeled away after that and it hit me: None of us knows how much time we have. Why are we waiting?”
It’s clear Women Who Wander has struck a chord as more than just a travel concept, but as a cultural one.
While travel tech leans on algorithms, Hughes is wagering on something else: a soulful, social network of women who aren’t waiting for permission to chase their dreams — they’re booking them.
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Check out the Facebook group here.
Jacques Ledbetter is a Luxury Travel Advisor contributor and founder of The Luxe Ledger newsletter. Join the conversation when this story posts there tomorrow on LinkedIn.
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