Exploring the Travel Experience of Chinese Solo Female Travelers Through a Gender and Cultural Lens

Abstract

ABSTRACT Due to exponential growth across the globe, solo female travel is emerging as a popular area of research and scholarship. Existing studies on the phenomenon have had focus on the characteristics of solo female travelers, providing a basic descriptive understanding of motivations and outcomes. Limited research has examined how gender and culture determine, shape and reinforce solo female travel experiences. To explore the intersection between culture, gender and solo female travel, this research is guided by an interpretivist phenomenological qualitative approach which consisted of an analysis of 41 blogs, combined with 12 in-depth interviews. Emergent findings have revealed that due to increased recognition of the improved status of women in China, solo female travel is increasingly viewed as a positive experience, despite associated risks. However, due to traditional Chinese values, support for solo female travel is slow, especially in regional and remote areas. A core contribution of this paper is the recognition it provides of the critical role of gender and culture in shaping Chinese solo female travel experiences. Future research should take a longitudinal perspective to assess how culture and gender influence solo female travel in-situ, during the experience, using culturally diverse samples.