Investigation into Female Solo Travelers: Solo Travel Exposure and Perceived Constraints, Personal Development, Authentic Personality and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Female solo travelers have become one of the most promising markets in today's tourism industry. Many women are motivated to travel solo with the hope to achieve self-discovery and self-development. Nevertheless, they are hesitant to travel on their own because of various constraints as a woman. Therefore, this study aims to explore solo travel experiences (i.e. solo travel exposure and perceived constraints), and how they contribute to the personal development, authentic personality, and self-esteem of females. A quantitative approach was used to achieve the study objectives. Results confirmed the significant influence of solo travel exposure including three key aspects, frequency of making own solo travel arrangements, frequency of traveling solo and solo trip length of time on minimizing women's solo travel perceived constraints. In addition, this study's findings supported the influence of solo travel constraints on personal development. The difference between internal (e.g. attitudes and perceptions) and external constraints (e.g. local destinations and local hosts) were found to be critical in determining the level of personal development. Lastly, the positive relationship among personal development, authentic personality and self-esteem were also proven confirming the benefits of solo travel and personal development in forming women's authentic personality and self-esteem. The findings of this study contribute to current minimal literature on female solo travel experiences, and assist tourism practitioners in tailoring meaningful experiences to facilitate opportunities for females to learn and grow from their solo travel experiences.