The solo travel boom has a new favourite destination
The global solo travel market crossed US$550 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $627 billion in 2026. That is not a niche statistic — it reflects a genuine shift in how people, especially women, are choosing to see the world. And one destination keeps coming up in the data: Morocco.
Intrepid Travel, which has run small-group and women-only trips to Morocco for years, recently shared some striking numbers. Solo female bookings on Intrepid trips grew 10% year over year in 2025. Its Women's Expeditions grew 32% in the same period, with 77% of those travellers joining as solos. Morocco is now Intrepid's top-selling Women's Expedition destination in North America — ahead of perennial favourites like Japan and Peru.
A Wakefield Research study commissioned by Intrepid, which surveyed 8,000 adult travellers across Australia, Canada, the UK and the US, found that 69% of travellers are either planning to travel solo or are open to doing so in the next year. Among Gen Z, that figure climbs to 77%.
What makes Morocco work for solo travellers
Morocco's appeal is not hard to understand. Within a single trip, a traveller can move through loud, layered medinas, quiet Berber villages in the Atlas Mountains, Saharan dunes and Atlantic coastline. The variety is rare.
But variety alone does not explain the pull. Christian Wolters, President of Intrepid Travel in Canada, points to the quality of human connection that the country offers. Staying with a family in the Atlas Mountains over mint tea and a home-cooked meal. Watching the Sahara sky after the campfire dies down, talking with people who were strangers a week ago. Visiting Tawesna, an all-women cooperative near Ait Benhaddou, where a meal comes with the stories of local women building financial independence through tourism.
These are not manufactured experiences. They are the kind of moments that make solo travel feel worth it.
Intrepid also points out that 81% of Canadians in its Meaningful Travel Index research agreed that a guided tour led by a local expert allows them to connect more deeply with a destination than exploring alone. For Morocco specifically — where busy medinas, language differences and unfamiliar cultural norms can feel overwhelming — having a local leader changes the experience significantly.
A limited-time offer worth knowing about
Intrepid has launched a solo supplement of just US$99 (land price only) on select Morocco itineraries, available across 10 trips including Morocco Uncovered, Classic Morocco, Best of Morocco, Morocco: Women's Expedition, Cycle Morocco and Morocco Real Food Adventure, among others. No promo code is needed — the discount applies automatically on Intrepid's site for eligible bookings.
The booking window runs until 3 November 2026, with travel valid until 31 December 2028. That is an unusually generous window, which means there is real time to plan properly rather than scramble.
Why this matters for a solo travel audience in India
Indian solo travellers — particularly women — are increasingly looking beyond Southeast Asia for their next independent adventure. Morocco sits in a compelling middle ground: it is culturally immersive without being logistically overwhelming, it is more affordable than Western Europe, and it offers the kind of sensory richness that Indian travellers tend to respond to deeply.
The structured small-group format that companies like Intrepid offer is especially relevant here. Many Indian women who want to travel solo still face family hesitation or personal safety concerns. A guided group trip to Morocco addresses both — it offers genuine independence within a supported framework, with local expertise built in.
Morocco also has direct flight connections from several Indian cities via Gulf carriers, making access easier than it might seem. If the solo travel conversation in India has mostly centred on Bali, Tbilisi or Lisbon so far, Morocco deserves a seat at that table.