Solo or Not: Fears and Opportunities Abound for Traveling Women

The biggest fear among Global Rescue female members, recognized as some of the world’s most experienced travelers, is having an accident or sustaining an injury while traveling. This apprehension constitutes almost half (49%) of all survey responses gathered recently. Blogger Kiersten “Kiki” Rich of The Blonde Abroad, lists safety as one of the top concerns among women who travel.

Whether traveling alone, with a group or with family and friends, Global Rescue female members point out that many of their travel concerns, like safety, are alleviated with a membership.

“Unexpected events happen during any sort of travel,” said Global Rescue member Kim Boyer. “A Global Rescue membership gives me confidence that emergency events can be managed without further complications or expense.”

If it’s a major illness or injury, like heat stroke, a head Injury or a heart attack, Global Rescue gets you by any means necessary — including using helicopters, jets, 4X4 vehicles, rescue teams on foot and more — and brings you to the nearest hospital capable of delivering the needed level of medical care.

If it’s a minor injury or illness like a twisted ankle, upset stomach or a strange bug bite members call Global Rescue to get real-time access to doctors, paramedics and nurses who will help sort out the dos and don’ts based on your unique situation and symptoms.

Member Patricia Kay Walzer calls her membership a safety net. “It reduces any concerns we might have about health and safety as we travel,” she said.

Help That Speaks the Local Language

For Cheryl Gilbert, who was trekking the world’s deadliest volcano in a remote part of Indonesia when she accidentally broke her leg during the descent, her Global Rescue membership made a dangerous situation better.

She contacted Global Rescue.

When the rescuers arrived, she was carried off the volcano on a mobile hammock made of bamboo poles and sarongs. Once at base camp, an ambulance drove her to a medical facility nearby. From there, she needed to go to a hospital in Jakarta, on the other side of the county.

“The Global Rescue-provided nurse made all the difference,” Gilbert said. “To have someone with me who was Indonesian and could negotiate with people and deal with all the medical stuff.”

Gilbert arrived in Jakarta where she received additional medical attention before being discharged. “I’m adamant that you always need a way out, especially if you’re going to be in place where there isn’t good health care infrastructure. The one company that will come get you is Global Rescue,” she said.

The Global Rescue Cost of Medical Evacuation? Zero, Zip, Nada!

Medical evacuation can cost as much as $300,000, depending on where you are in the world and the distance you need to be transported. But a Global Rescue membership includes medical transport back to your home or your home hospital of choice at no charge for members.

That’s a significant service for member Karen Orso who said with a membership she would “avoid high costs if I need medical evacuation.”

Sometimes travelers get sick or injured in areas where healthcare facilities may not meet their medical needs, and they need to be transferred to a different care facility. “The closest medical facility isn’t always the right one. Global Rescue gets you to the most appropriate hospital for your illness or injury,” said Dan Stretch, operations manager at Global Rescue.

That’s a plus for Peggy Ann Picard. “It makes me feel more secure while traveling, knowing if an emergency arose, I could fly to a destination where my needs would be handled.”

Shauna Williams agrees. “There is peace of mind for me that if there is a medical emergency, I have access to medical care that I trust,” she said. “A Global Rescue membership allows me to continue to travel to remote locations knowing if anything happens, I have a lifeline to depend on.”

Traveling Boldly, Made Possible by Security Experts

But illness or injury are not the only worries traveling women have. Civil unrest and terrorism were the second biggest fears women who completed the survey listed, accounting for 15% of respondents.

If there’s a terror attack or civil unrest, a Global Rescue membership with a security package enables members to access Global Rescue’s security operations team for advice and emergency extraction.

“You can’t just have one plan. You need to have secondary and tertiary plans in place. We develop redundant air travel providers and ground options for operations related to civil unrest or terrorism. Just in case,” said Harding Bush, a former Navy SEAL and associate director of security operations for Global Rescue.

“We were in Barcelona at the time of a terrorist attack, and it was helpful to talk to Global Rescue for advice on what to do,” said Shari Scott.

Daniela Shields’ daughter, Alli, unexpectedly found herself in the middle of civil unrest in Hong Kong in 2019. Thankfully, Global Rescue quickly arranged for Alli to fly back home and out of harm’s way.

“The specifics from Global Rescue made the difference,” Shields said. “I learned things about the Hong Kong protests from Global Rescue that I didn’t hear until the next day on the news. I felt like we were ahead of the eight ball at every turn.”

Navigating the Nightmare of Loss and Theft Abroad

The third most concerning fear among traveling women, according to the Global Rescue survey, is a lost or stolen passport.

Maredith Richardson had never heard of Global Rescue before, despite traveling and living abroad a few times. She discovered Global Rescue through her college study abroad program and became a member. During her studies in Paris, France, her beach bag was stolen, along with personal items and her passport.

She contacted Global Rescue immediately. “They responded to me within about 30 seconds,” she said.

Richardson promptly learned that Global Rescue services include streamlining the process to replace a lost or stolen passport or visa. Instead of the standard several weeks for replacement Global Rescue security experts helped Richardson manage the international administrative challenges and obtain a passport replacement in less than a week.

“The Global Rescue team handled it completely, got it hammered out within a couple of hours and got me into the embassy for an urgent passport replacement appointment,” she said. “I didn’t have to do a single thing, except pull my documentation together.”

Empowered Explorers: The Rise of Women Solo Travelers

Despite these fears, solo women travel is trending up. “More women are traveling alone, and tour operators and travel companies are seeing a surge in older, married women embarking on these solo adventures,” according to a Skift report.

A report by Road Scholar, a Boston-based tour operator of educational group travel for older adults, sees a similar trend among older women traveling without their partners. “The primary reasons for traveling solo included 42% saying their spouse’s lack of interest in traveling while a slightly lower percentage said they had different travel interests compared to their partner,” according to the Road Scholar report.

The Key to Safer Travels

A Global Rescue membership is travel protection that evacuates members from the point of illness or injury to the nearest appropriate hospital, clinic or medical provider. In addition to field rescue and medical evacuation, membership services include medical and security advisory, travel support in case of lost or stolen travel documents, high-altitude evacuation package add-on and no activity restrictions.

With a travel protection services membership, traveling, whether solo or as part of a group, is truly a time to relax, immerse, put away your fears and enjoy.

“It makes me feel safe to know I can get help anywhere I can in a foreign country,” said Elizabeth Pugliese. “I can’t imagine traveling without it.”