Overseas Adventure Travel Offers Solo Travelers Free Single Supplements on All 2013 Adventures and Trip Extensions

BOSTON, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- To accommodate the growing number of solo travelers aged 50 and older, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) is offering free single supplements on all of its adventures and pre-and-post trip extensions.  With OAT, single travelers can save $500-$5000 over comparable vacations offered by tour operators that continue to charge single supplement fees.

"More than one-third of our travelers book solo these days," said OAT Vice Chair Harriet R. Lewis.  "By waiving the single supplement fee, we've made it much more affordable for solo travelers to see the world.  Offering free single supplements is just one of several actions we've taken to accommodate a fast-growing segment of older American travelers."

In addition to free single supplements, OAT offers a free matching roommate program, a free online travel companion program, a Lowest Price Guarantee that refunds travelers if a departure is reduced in price after one books it, and a Solo Traveler Challenge that guarantees the best price for solos for a comparable international vacation. OAT also trains all of its Trip Leaders (guides) to welcome, integrate, and assist solo travelers on every trip and departure.  

Solo travelers today make up 35% of OAT's travelers—up from 20% five years ago.  In the past two years, 78,766 Americans, aged 50 and older, traveled with OAT.  Twenty-five thousand were solo travelers, including 20,000 women.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an American turns 50 every seven seconds—12,500 people a day.  By 2015, the 50+ population will make up 45% of the U.S. population (AARP).  According to statistics from Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research, one-third of adults aged 45-63 are unmarried—a 50% increase since 1980, when 20 percent of middle-aged Americans were unmarried.  

OAT offers Americans 50 and older culturally-rich adventures in small groups of 10-16 travelers by land and 14-25 by small ship with per diems that begin as low as $93 a day and eight adventures that begin at less than $150 a day.  OAT destinations include more than 30 countries, including Botswana, the Serengeti, India, Burma, China & Tibet, Vietnam, Colombia, the Galapagos, Peru, Costa Rica, Israel, and beyond.  For more information, please visit www.oattravel.com.

ABOUT OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL
Established in 1978, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) is part of Boston-based Grand Circle Corporation's family of travel companies, which also include Grand Circle Cruise Line and Grand Circle Travel.  Since 1992, the organization's charitable arm, Grand Circle Foundation, has donated or pledged more than $92M USD to more than 300 humanitarian, educational, and cultural organizations worldwide, including 100 schools, in 50 countries.

SOURCE Overseas Adventure Travel