Encounter Travel is celebrating its 20th anniversary on 24 August 2026, marking two decades as a pioneer of group travel for solo travellers in Australia.
Founded in 2006 by Justine Waddington, the company was among the first to create small group tours designed specifically for solo travellers, filling a gap Waddington identified from her own experience – travellers who were on their own but didn’t want to travel that way.
“When I started this business, there was very little out there for people who didn’t have a travel buddy but didn’t want to go it alone,” Waddington said. “They were joining tours full of couples and feeling like the odd one out, or they just weren’t travelling at all. That’s the gap we filled, and we’re still here filling it 20 years on.”
Encounter Travel now operates small group tours, resort escapes and ocean and river cruise groups exclusively for solo travellers, with departures across more than 50 countries. The company works with a network of travel agents across Australia who sell its product alongside direct bookings.
The profile of the Encounter Travel client has shifted over the two decades. Waddington said travellers were originally more strongly represented by people in their 40s; today, the strongest demand comes from those in their 50s and over, with the biggest cohort in their 60s.
“These are travellers who are not prepared to stop seeing the world because they don’t have a travel buddy,” Waddington said.
“There is a whole generation of Australians in their fifties, sixties and beyond who want to see the world and don’t have someone to go with. For agents looking to develop this in their client base, there’s never been a better time.”
