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Investigating the Experiences of Female Solo-travellers in Comparison to Male Solo-travellers.

Investigating the Experiences of Female Solo-travellers in Comparison to Male Solo-travellers.
Author: Emily Baines
1 Commentries
Abstract: This conference paper investigates the different experiences of male and female solo travellers through the use of semi-structured interviews and then comparing the findings with previous academic literature.

Key Words: Gender, solo-travel, solo female travelling, safety, travel experiences


The main aim of this conference paper is to gain a further understanding of the different experiences of both female and male solo travellers. Focus was placed specifically on how participants may be influenced by outside perspectives, as well as looking at the different safety concerns that may occur.

As the tourism industry has experienced massive growth, a multitude of different trends have occurred, one of them being the increase in solo travelling. Over 84% of these solo travellers are female and so it is important to understand the difference in experiences between male and female solo travellers (Condor Ferries, 2020). Solo travel is one of the fastest growing markets within the tourism industry, this is due to a variety of factors including, individualisation, the decline in the nuclear family and increased disposable income. These factors have meant that people are more likely to spend their money on things that benefit them, such as travel, as opposed to the family (Hamid et al., 2021). In more recent years, technology and social media has played a pivotal role in the increase of female solo-travel, as not only does it allow people to feel safer and more comfortable due to the ability of being constantly connected, but also because it is possible for people to see that solo travelling is possible and encourages them to do the same (Magno & Cassio, 2018).

Travel is experienced differently by all, but research has found that there are significant differences between how male and female’s experience their solo travel experience. Studies have found that women are more likely to be motivated by cultural and educational experiences as opposed to men placing more significance on sports and adventures. Differences also occurred when looking at how female solo travellers are more likely to concentrate on safety and security, whilst male solo travellers seek adventure and taking risks (Omar et al., 2015).

A semi-structured interview was conducted in order to gain an insight into the experiences of female solo travellers. This method allowed the research to develop a rapport with the participant through the use of both pre-planned and probing questions, often following the lead of the interviewee in order to discuss what they felt to be most important in their own solo travel experiences. The participant was a 20 year old female solo traveller who had visited Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia – their identity has been anonymised to ensure confidentiality.

After conducting a thematic analysis on the interview transcript, three key themes were developed: perceptions of others, response to outside perceptions and safety concerns. The findings of the interview suggest that there were mixed responses when the participant informed her family of her desire to solo travel, with some people calling her “crazy”, whilst others were “really supportive”. The participant even mentioned how if her younger brother was going to solo travel then she doubts people would have as many concerns or reservations towards him, but because she is a female solo traveller, it causes more of a variety of responses – this could largely be due to the fact that society is inherently misogynistic. Despite these reservations from outsiders, the participant still decided to go ahead and travel alone, stating that she didn’t care what they had to say and that it was upsetting for her that her family thought of her in that way. This proved that women face more challenges and obstacles when solo travelling, even before they actually reach the destination as they deal with external factors putting doubts into their minds as opposed to male solo travellers who do not face the same difficulties.

Further to this, safety concerns are a fundamental part of any traveller’s experience, however this study highlighted the difference between male and female solo travellers and their safety concerns and precautions. It was found that male solo travellers place more significance on material objects and money, intent on keeping these objects safe as opposed to having many concerns for their own physical wellbeing. This is different to the concerns of female solo travellers who indicated that they were concerned for their physical safety and avoided walking alone at night or being out of their accommodation at certain times. The participant also indicated that one of her main concerns was sexual assault or someone breaking into her room to attack her – this differs to that of male solo travellers as only 14.8% of males shared these concerns.
This paper mainly focuses on female solo travellers and their experiences, comparing the findings with previous academic literature. In the future it can be beneficial to interview both male and female solo travellers; it may also be interesting to investigate the different responses to female solo-travellers and uncover the reasons for the different, contrasting responses that were found within this study.



References:

Condor Ferries (2020) Solo Travel Statistics 2020-2021. Available from: https://www.condorferries.co.uk/solo-travel-statistics [Accessed on 4th June 2021].

Meng, F. & Uysal, M. (2008) Effects of Gender Differences on Perceptions of Destination Attributes, Motivations and Travel Values. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16(4), 445-466.

Travel Weekly (2018) Allianz study looks at concerns of solo travellers. Available from: https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Allianz-study-looks-at-concerns-of-solo-travelers [Accessed on 4th June 2021].
A Commentary on: Investigating the Experiences of Female Solo-travellers in Comparison to Male Solo-travellers.
Author: Karis Bleakley
This discussion paper was chosen as it can provide an insight into the differences of gendered travel, which could be beneficial for my discussion paper, and important for further research. This paper includes a semi-structured interview which will provide invaluable data for their study, helping make the end conclusion more reliable and accurate.

Within this paper, an interesting point was made about how technology played a pivotal role in the increase of female solo travel, due to the safety aspect. Although technology has improved connectivity and increased globalisation, it can also be detrimental to the safety of women. This is because technology has also perpetuated the idea of women as objects through the media, which has impacted the safety of female travellers. Technology and social media can also put women at risk of being stalked, harassed or even worse (Chandler, 2019). It was found that people who perceive women as objects, or less than human, are likely to emotionally abuse, become physically violent, and even rape these women (Ohbuchi, Ikeda, and Takeuchi, 1994). This threat of violence against women was brought up within the semi-structured interview for this paper, the participant specified that one of her main concerns was being sexually assaulted, which is not a big concern for the majority of men whilst travelling. This could have been an area for more discussion and exploration within the paper, as it could provide potentially reasoning behind why there are gendered travelling experiences.

Overall, this study provided a look into the experiences of women travelling alone and provided some reasoning as to why men and women experience travelling differently. In order for this study to be even more reliable, it would have been extremely beneficial to have also interviewed a solo male traveller, as this would have allowed for cross-comparison of each of their gendered experiences. In general, more research and data were needed in terms of the solo male traveller experience, as not many conclusions could be made. This was noted at the end of the paper therefore, it can be assumed more time was needed for the chosen study.

References:

Chandler, S. (2019) Social Media Is Fostering A Big Rise In Real-World Stalking. Forbes. Available from https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2019/10/11/social-media-proves-itself-to-be-the-perfect-tool-for-stalkers/?sh=76e932783d79 [accessed 9 June 2021].

Ohbuchi, K., Ikeda, T. and Takeuchi, G. (1994) Effects of violent pornography upon viewers’ rape myth beliefs: A study of Japanese males. Psychology, Crime, and the Law, 1(1) 71-81.