Women Solo Travellers: A Base for Gender Equality

Abstract

People continue to become more liberated and individualised day by day. They look for ways to somehow get out of any situation that restricts them, tend to get rid of their typical holiday patterns and travel alone, without being stuck within anyone else's borders, precisely as they want. In addition, people can travel alone to discover themselves, meet different cultures, relieve stress and learn new skills. Women travel alone more than men, although they face more difficulties than men. The experiences of women solo travellers suggest that this form of travel can provide a meaningful foundation for advancing gender equality. By challenging gender roles and expectations, empowering women to assert their autonomy and agency and creating opportunities for community-building and solidarity, solo travel can help to transform social norms and promote gender equity.

This chapter aims to build a body of knowledge that will have a widespread impact based on available data on the relationship of women solo travellers to gender equality. It also examines the effects of women solo travellers on gender equality based on secondary data sources. This chapter, designed as conceptual research with descriptive analysis and document analysis, is important in revealing what the indirect gains of women solo travellers can be for gender equality, the fifth of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals.

Citation

Umur, M. (2024), "Women Solo Travellers: A Base for Gender Equality", Tanrisever, C., Pamukçu, H. and Sharma, A. (Ed.) Future Tourism Trends Volume 2 (Building the Future of Tourism), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 255-267. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-970-320241016