THREE times a year, underwriter Chua Huan Geok jets off for a holiday in Asia. The nature lover will take one long vacation - perhaps a two-week adventure escapade to Nepal, India or Tibet.

The other two occasions are for short getaways: spa retreats in Bali and Phuket or shopping sprees in Hong Kong and Macau.

"Travelling allows me to take a break from work and is one of the joys of life. It isn't a luxury but a necessity," says Ms Chua, 35.

She is not alone in thinking so. Many women similarly are packing their bags and heading abroad, spending up to thousands of dollars. Yet, that sum is affordable for people like Ms Chua, who are single and without major financial commitments.

Which means lucrative business for the related industries which are also targeting the increasing number of women who travel for work.

In fact, with women in Asia making around 125 million trips a year - within Asia and elsewhere - they are set to play a decisive role in the development of the travel, hospitality and tourism sectors in the next decade, says Mr Don Birch, CEO of travel facilitator Abacus International.

It recently released a report which deemed female travellers in this region "a force to be reckoned with".

That is backed up by a MasterCard study conducted in major Asian markets this year, which revealed that 42 per cent of women surveyed travelled in the last 12 months, compared to 37 per cent of the men.

In Asia, the most active female travellers are from developed cities like Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong, where the women have more disposable income.

Sociologist Paulin Tay Straughan notes that with many of the more successful women choosing to put career first, they may not have a male soulmate and thus will travel by themselves or with female friends.

"In the past, without a male companion, women may not have had the means to indulge independently. That's not the case anymore.

"Unlike men who spend on objects like fast cars, gadgets and toys which can be appreciated by others, women spend on themselves, taking care of their inner peace and aesthetic pleasures," she notes.

Ms Alicia Seah, vice-president of leisure travel at UOB Travel Planners, agrees: "Women don't mind splurging on travel."

They make up about 60 per cent of its customer base today, up from 40 per cent three years ago. To cater to demand, it introduced spa packages, shopping tours to Milan, Paris and Hong Kong, as well as a package to tailor cheongsam in Shanghai.

Its rivals like CTC Holidays, Chan Brothers and SA Tours have also lined up packages, with most incorporating spa and shopping diversions.

Ms Joycelyn Su, CTC's vice-president for outbound travel, says demand increased significantly two to three years ago.

It now handles 8,000 to 10,000 female travellers a year, "easily two to three times the number compared to three years ago".

Getaways just for girls

SHOPPING THERAPY: The men don't get it.

HOTELS are responding as well. In October last year, the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore created a one-night room package as a "girls' getaway".

Costing more than $400, Miracles For Girls included martini cocktails, manicures, shopping discounts at Marina Square and Millenia Walk, and La Mer travel gift sets.

More than 100 packages were sold during the six-month promotion. A hotel spokesman says this is considered "good response" and it will come up with more women's packages in the future.

Over in Shanghai, the Four Seasons Hotel launched a female concierge service in April to help with shopping, spa, dining and partying decisions in the city.

Ms Lisa Low, the hotel's public relations director, says the service is manned by a woman because "women know women best".

The hotel first saw the surge in the number of women travellers about two years ago after the opening of upmarket malls like Plaza 66. Ms Low says that in the past year, the number of female guests has gone up by 25 per cent.

Mr Roger Pfund, general manager of corporate travel management specialist BCD Travel, notes that with more women advancing to management positions, that has also translated to more business from female corporate travellers.

And savvy service providers are doing all they can to cater to women's specific needs.

Mr Birch says five-star hotels in India are devoting entire floors to female business travellers and providing enhanced security and female housekeeping staff.

In Hong Kong, the Fleming Hotel became one of the city's first hotels to create a dedicated women's floor in February this year, while the Jumeirah Emirates Tower Hotel in Dubai became the first hotel in the Middle East to feature a women-only floor.

Travelling and talking

IT IS also boom time for those specialising in vacations in exotic locations, such as Country Holidays, Universal Travel Corporation and X-trekkers - which organise trips from Cuba and North Korea to Pakistan and the Antarctic.

Country Holidays marketing director Tan Siew Yim says that while her clientele has always been mostly women, the number has increased in the last two years, from 1,000 in 2005 to 1,500 last year.

More single women sign up for exotic locations because - without the commitments of family - they are more adventurous and can afford to pay the higher costs of these packages.

"Women are social animals, so they like travelling and talking to other women. The same can't be said for men, unless you are referring to, say, golf trips," Ms Tan says.

X-trekkers founder Wong Yuen Lik notes that some men are turned off by adventure travel because they feel it's too similar to their national service days.

His company, which organises trekking trips to places like Nepal and Tibet, has seen a doubling in female travellers since it was set up nine years ago, though he declines to give exact figures.

Mr Birch says the rise of the female traveller looks set to go on for at least another decade.

For female frequent flyers like Ms Chong Hai Yen, 35, it's not hard to see why.

The ITE lecturer travels at least once a month for leisure, using the weekends for short trips and school holidays for longer ones. She has gone to Central America, Europe and most of South-east Asia.

"For many years, women were hungry for independence. Now that we are financially sound, we want to express it in different ways, such as travelling," says Ms Chong, who is single.

"It feels liberating and when we achieve this freedom, we don't want to give it up so easily."