Abstract
This article explores midlife single women's positive and negative perceptions of and experiences with the sociability offered on group package tours. Qualitative data were gathered from 32 women through two sets of focus group interviews and “solicited” diaries. The women focused on the joy of bonding with the other tourists in the group. This feeling gave them a sense of social inclusion in tourism spaces that were often constructed solely for families and people traveling with significant others. For some of the women, group membership was thus an agreeable substitute when lacking travel companionship. However, the somewhat enforced sociability with strangers imbued in group package tours also clashed with the midlife single women's need for independence and freedom of choice. This ambivalence suggested that group tour membership also was challenging for the women. In order to attract and accommodate to the needs of midlife single women tour operators should thus be aware of the complexity of this subject position.
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