Female Travelers Research Articles

Motivation & stimulus as drivers of leisure travel: an empirical study of Indian female executives

PurposeThis study aims to understand how female executive travellers should be characterized by inter-winning socio-economic segmentation and leisure travel motivation.Design/methodology/approachThis study identifies push factors as a motivation for leisure travel among female executives in India. Quantitative research methodology was applied based on 892 online responses to a questionnaire. Principal component analysis was applied to identify the underlying dimensions of push motivational items.FindingsThe findings disclose five-factor dimensions of self-esteem; knowledge- and novelty-seeking; stimulus; escape; and self-recognition. Among the five identified dimensions, stimulus was the most important factor for motivating female executives to travel for leisure, followed by knowledge and novelty-seeking.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was conducted on 1,100 female executive travellers, meaning the results are only valid for this cultural context. All data was collected through a referral chain network survey among female executives via Google survey forms. While segmenting types of travellers amongst females, usage of push motivation framework as a variable remains pervasive in tourism research.Originality/valueAlthough literature on female travel motivation is abundant, however, to the authors’ knowledge, empirical studies that focus on female executives leisure travel motivations are still rare. These findings are, therefore, valuable for illuminating tourism stakeholders to cater this potential segment more customisedly.

“With a Home Nowhere, I Belong Everywhere”: Travel as a Heterotopic Space of Feminist Resistance in Shivya Nath’s The Shooting Star (2018)

Abstract In India, male dominance historically prevailed in the realms of travel and travel writing due to their alignment with ideals of masculine courage and sexuality. However, in the post-millennial era, Indian women began to emerge as solo travelers in the tourism industry, facilitated by increased access to higher education and diverse professions. By analyzing the travel memoir of Shivya Nath, a prominent Indian female travel blogger, titled The Shooting Star (2018), this article explores the concept of solo travel as a heterotopic space—a realm of resistance and negotiation that empowers women and offers an alternative form of liberation. Nath’s memoir celebrates female emancipation, defying narratives of victimhood. The argument presented is that solo travel represents an active form of resistance against gender stereotypes, enabling women to overcome personal fears and logistical obstacles.

MALAYSIA AS A BACKPACKING DESTINATION FOR MILLENNIAL SOLO FEMALE TRAVELLERS: EXAMINING DESTINATION IMAGE, MOTIVATION, AND INTENTIONS

This study explores Malaysia's appeal as a backpacking destination for millennial solo female travellers. The study aims to fill a gap in the knowledge focussing on understanding the way millennial solo female travellers see their destination, what motivates them, and how their views can help to shape their travel choices interconnected with their travel plans. The factors affecting this demographic’s choice of destinations and travel intentions are thoroughly examined in this study using a quantitative approach. The 164 respondents were assessed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and the findings demonstrated that psychological motive, cultural motive, personal motive, and destination image positively influence tourist travel intention among millennial solo female travellers. The study's findings offer important information for modifying marketing plans and offerings to suit the requirements and preferences of this growing and powerful tourism market, helping to position Malaysia as a welcoming and inclusive female traveller -backpacking destination.

Exploring the Effects of Risk Perceptions and Depression of Young Travelers on Destination Trust in the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT The correlations among travelers’ depression in a public health crisis, risk perceptions (affective risk and cognitive risk perception), and destination trust are explored through this study’s employment of quantitative methods with PLS-SEM. This study also examines the differences between male and female young travelers, regarding risk perceptions, depression, and destination trust, and the relationships among these factors. The main findings showed that risk perceptions have remarkably impacted destination trust. However, risk perceptions have not affected depression, and depression has no relationship with destination trust, which is not in line with previous research. Furthermore, a significant difference was found between male and female young travelers in the relationships between risk perceptions and destination trust. Besides, the study provides some implications to enrich the literature for academics. Practical implications could help destination marketers, and tourism companies better understand young travelers’ behaviors in the new normal of society.

Specificity of Authorial Strategy in 19th Century Women’s Travelogues: A Study of E.A. Sverbeeva’s Travel Diary

The article is dedicated to the interpretation of the phenomenon of women’s writing and its representation in the genre of travelogue. For the first time, the ‘Diary of E.A. Sverbeeva for 1833’ is studied in the context of the evolution of women’s documentary travelogue in the 19th century, focusing on the issue of authorship. It is established that E.A. Sverbeeva’s travel diary expresses the main tendencies of the evolution of ‘women’s writing’ in the 1830s. It is revealed that Ekaterina Alexandrovna’s diary demonstrates a focus on the self, on modes of self-expression, self-analysis, and self-discovery. At the same time, the self is clearly expressed as a feminine self, which is manifested in the selection of objects from real life for describing the journey and in the ways they are characterized. As an individual authorial strategy, a combination of elements of a personal diary and a travelogue can be identified, while more often female travelers differentiated these types of entries, even designating the fundamental difference between them in the text of the travel diary. The analysis of the biographical basis of the diary and the ways in which the self is expressed in the narrative structure allows for the identification of a combination of different perspectives — that of a society lady, a ‘sensitive heroine,’ a mother, a married woman — reflecting the main tendencies in the development of ‘women’s writing’ in the historical-literary process of the 19th century.

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

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.

Political Affairs of the Heart: Female Travel Writers, the Sentimental Travelogue, and Revolution, 1775–1800 by Linda Van Netten Blimke

<i>Political Affairs of the Heart: Female Travel Writers, the Sentimental Travelogue, and Revolution, 1775–1800</i> by Linda Van Netten Blimke

Camino de Santiago as a portal to the inner world

Pilgrimage, one type of long-distance walking, has long been associated with transformation. Despite the growing number of female pilgrims and anecdotal evidence, little research has been directed toward understanding their experience. Using Moustakas’ (1990) qualitative method of heuristic inquiry, this study explored solo female travellers’ experience of transformation associated with walking the Camino de Santiago. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven co-researchers. Five of them contributed additional material, such as poems, blog posts, and journal entries. The findings show that participants became more authentic, connected deeply with others and nature, and discovered a new appreciation for their bodies. They reported implementing various lifestyle changes upon return and spoke about wanting to be of service and make a difference in the world. Although they all experienced moments of profound realisation along the way, the co-researchers acknowledged that transformation is an ongoing process. After discussing the findings in relation to previous literature, the study concludes by recommending pilgrimage as an antidote to the epidemic of busyness, materialism, and alienation from self, others, and nature. Limitations are discussed, and future research suggestions including the investigation into whether going on a pilgrimage periodically fosters the transformative process are made.

Cyberculture in Cyberlife (Description of Travel Influencer Interactions with Their Followers on Instagram)

The tourism industry in Indonesia has been growing rapidly for a long time. Although the pandemic Covid-19 has passed now, the presence of social media influencers (SMI) in the tourism sector still exists because their existence is considered effective in promoting Indonesian tourism. They can discuss travel activities, tourist destinations or just give appreciation through emojis in the comment space. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the interactions that occur between different SMI characters and their followers through posts and comments uploaded on Instagram from January to March 2023. This period was chosen because it was the momentum of the revival of Indonesian tourism after the pandemic. The research approach used is qualitative with a virtual ethnography research method, with data collection techniques in the form of observation and online data collection. The data analysis techniques used are: 1) Elicitation stage which is the collection of raw data; 2) Reduction stage which consists of 3 stages, namely: Selection-Coding-Clustering; and 3) Visualization stage. Data collection of comments was carried out using the IGCommentExporter program, meanwhile data analysis conducted by Voyant Tools program. Furthermore, the discussion themes that emerged from the findings will be discussed with the concept of Cyberculture that has been discussed previously. The unit of analysis used in this research is the text message in the comment section of the Instagram accounts of two top female travel influencers in Indonesia @medinakamil and @puanindya. By using the concept of Cyberculture, this research concludes that the interaction that occurs between travel influencers and their followers is based on the followers' interest in the influencer's figure itself and also the online friendliness that displays in the comments column.

TRAVEL WRITING REVISITED: READING THE RIVER

Some theoretical considerations of travel writing as a genre presented in this article were inspired by Myrna Kostash’s Reading the River: A Traveller’s Companion to the North Saskatchewan River (2005). Besides a review of generic considerations, this text aims to highlight the postcolonial context and its relevance for travel writing, as well as the concepts of contact-zone and intertextuality, with a final touch on female travel writing, which all figure in Kostash’s travelogue.

What Kind of “Green” do the Guests Want? An Exploration of Adoption of Luxury Hotel Green Room Attributes

This study aims to provide insights for sustainability initiatives in Singapore luxury hotels. We explore the impact of green room attributes toward guests’ satisfaction and hotel selection. We surveyed 387 respondents to identify their preferences for green room attributes. Among different green room attributes, we find that younger travelers are satisfied with cloth laundry bags, while older travelers appreciate wooden keys. A female guest is more likely to enjoy eco-friendly food and beverages amenities, while a male guest is more likely to appreciate motion or occupancy sensors. With regard to choosing a hotel, those traveling for leisure and at an older age ranked service quality as more important. Female travelers appreciate cleanliness compared to room rates, and those with higher education ranked sustainability initiatives higher. The analysis of demographic factors can be referenced by the hospitality industry practitioners and the hoteliers of luxury hotels operators when they plan to implement green room features or marketing strategies targeted to a specific segment of customers. As for the greater aim, the research contributes to the literature that focuses on the rise of green consumption to support global sustainability initiatives.

Decoding international Solo women travelers’ experience: A qualitative analysis of user-generated videos

Solo female travel represents a growing market segment, with an increasing number of females preferring to travel alone. This paper aims to explore the international solo women's traveler experience; it uses a novel approach by studying the comprehensive experience of solo women travelers through analyzing user-generated content. It explores the opportunities, motivations, and constraints faced by solo women travelers. The content of user-generated videos is crucial to destinations' attractiveness and image. In this context, the researchers analyzed the 50 most viewed YouTube videos shared by solo women travelers using both inductive and deductive approaches. The content of the videos was analyzed using Leximancer to classify the most commonly occurring concepts in the text of transcripts, while the videos were also watched, and manual coded in relation to a conceptual model developed based on the existing academic literature. The findings showed a relationship between the type of accommodation solo females choose to stay in and the willingness to meet locals. Furthermore, the time of the day and the destination's reputation heavily influenced the activities and safety perception of the travelers. Management implicationsDestination marketing organizations (DMOs) and travel planners aiming to target solo women travelers are encouraged to first recognize this interesting segment. Based on the videos that we have analyzed more content like this could be made available and having a DMO who caters specifically to the need of solo female travelers will enhance the destination image and will encourage others to come and visit. A solo female traveler-friendly destination could be launched for, and by, destinations that allow solo females to freely move and practice their activities at any time and any place. This will encourage travelers to visit, and consequently, the presence of other females will increase the overall safety perception as was found in the current research.

Images of Thai Women in Thai Travel Magazines

Abstract This research on the portrayal of women in Thai travel narratives aims to analyze the structure and components of these narratives and examines the language strategies used to present the images of Thai women within the context of travel magazines by combining textual analysis with visual methodology. Altogether 313 narratives from 48 issues of Vacationist, Travel around the World, Neekrung and Osotho magazines published between June 2018 and May 2019 were collected. The study reveals that the meanings of travel and the images of Thai women in the travel magazines through the use of language strategies are formed in a positive way. Solo female travelers are depicted as adventurers, nature lovers and soul searchers. These images indicate individuality and financial independence. On the other hand, female travelers with companions are displayed in association with their roles as wives, mothers and daughters.

Solo travel intention: A study of Indonesian Muslim and non-Muslim women

The paper analyzed the intention to travel alone in the perceptions of Muslim and non-Muslim women regarding travel constraints, motivation, perceived behavioral control, negotiation, and openness. Based on the existing literature, hypotheses were formulated and tested through structural equation modeling based on data from 574 valid online responses. Purposive sampling was applied to collect 278 responses from Muslim women and 298 responses from non-Muslim women, all from Indonesia. The results revealed the different direct influences between travel motivation and travel intention in Muslim and non-Muslim models. Constraints were found to have an insignificant impact on travel intention in both phases. All other proposed hypotheses were found to be significant. This paper contributes to the emerging research on Asian solo female travel and discusses practical implications for the travel industry to cater solo travel market.

대학 전공교육으로서의 고전소설 수업 방안 연구

This paper agrees with the crisis that college education faces related to Korean classical literature. In order to overcome this crisis, it suggests ways to effectively teach Korean classical novels. First, this paper investigates the current status of the curriculum related to classical novels in the departments of Korean language and Korean language education across the country. The thing that stands out the most is the increase in subjects regarding cultural contents. Accordingly, the author ran a curriculum that suggested students to create new cultural contents by taking sources from Korean classical literature. In the beginning of the curriculum, students analyzed worthy cultural contents in various fields. There are various types of cultural contents such as a web novel, web toon, movie, play, musical, drama, game and advertisement. Out of them, students chose contents based on classical literature, and investigated the features and factors of popularity. After that, they created new stories and character types that content consumers would be interested in. Many of these stories were about independent female characters, explorers and travelers, active communicators, characters who fall in love, and had a happy ending. In the “Reading Korean classical novels through key words” class, students can learn the features of Korean literature and the differences between classical literature and contemporary literature by investigating key words. They can think deeply about the subjects by choosing a key word out of several and figuring out how the keyword is shaped in a novel. By reading several classical novels, students can develop reading skills and get familiar with classical literature. Furthermore, they can develop writing skills by expressing how they can relate lessons from novels to their own lives.

Female solo travels to south Asian destinations and sustaining loneliness

While there has been an increase in the number of tourists travelling solo, there is a steady growth in females travelling alone as tourists around the globe. This phenomenon has led to a growing scholarly interest, yet solo female travel as a research topic is relatively under-researched. Only limited knowledge exists about the psychological issues of female solo travel, such as loneliness. There is a gap in our understanding of interpreting solo travel by females, depending on their country of origin and the type of destinations they have travelled solo. This study examined these aspects by exploring female solo travelling in South Asian destinations with European and Asian participants. The results revealed that the meaning of solo travelling is associated with four themes: freedom pursuit, being with the self, self-enhancement, and connectedness with people. It also disclosed that solo female travellers have different perceptions about ‘loneliness,’ and everyone does not see loneliness as a negative outcome. The results further indicate that the perception of solo travel and loneliness and how to cope with lonely times are likely to be subjective to the type of destinations where solo travelling takes place and the country of origin of the travellers.

Helping the Expectant Mother Elizabeth: The Nature and Purpose of Mary's Travel in Luke 1:39

The purpose of Mary's journey in Luke 1:39 is not mentioned in the narrative. A common way of interpreting this travel is to conclude that Mary travels hastily to confirm Elizabeth's pregnancy and/or in obedience to Gabriel's words. In contrast, I argue that, when Mary's travel is placed in the context of female travel in the first century c.e. and the social world of childbirth, the textual clues indicate a different way to read the narrative gaps. Mary travels to Elizabeth to help her in the final months of her pregnancy, with the birth of John, and during the early postpartum period.

The influence of girlfriend getaway luxury travel experiences on women's subjective well-being through travel satisfaction: A case study in Macau

There is a phenomenon that females take luxury travel with their girlfriends. However, researchers rarely noticed overlaid the girlfriend getaway (GGA) with luxury travel. This study aims to determine female luxury travel experiences and their effects on travel satisfaction and subjective well-being. It derives five dimensions of the female luxury travel experience (escapism, happiness, luxurious leisureliness, personal enrichment and sense of connection) from literature. The results of a systematic survey of 286 female travellers in Macau indicate that all dimensions except for escapism significantly affect satisfaction, and all dimensions except for luxurious leisureliness significantly affect subjective well-being. Satisfaction only mediates the effects of a sense of connection on subjective well-being. A multi-group analysis is conducted to compare the results from women with three types of demographic characteristics (single vs married, low-income vs high-income, low-consumption vs high-consumption). This study contributes to well-being research in tourism by explaining how female luxury travel experiences create women's subjective well-being. It also broadens the GGA tourism literature by investigating GGA experiences from a luxury perspective. It provides practical implications for tourism marketing by understanding the needs of different groups of female groups for GGA luxury travel.

Borderline personality disorder in Irish Travellers: a cross-sectional study of an ultra-high-risk group

IntroductionIrish Travellers are recognised as a minority ethnic group in Ireland. While mental health services are available to Travellers, these services are often perceived as inadequate at addressing the mental health needs of this population. Studies have shown that there is a higher prevalence of mental disorders in the Traveller community in Ireland compared to the general Irish public. However, it is unclear if Travellers are at a higher risk of developing personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder.ObjectivesThis study will examine the prevalence of borderline personality disorder and other mental disorders in Travellers attending a community mental health service in Tuam, County Galway. This study will also investigate the biopsychosocial interventions delivered to this cohort and the clinical outcome following the interventions.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study. Travellers who were active caseloads on the register of the community mental health service in Tuam were included in this study. Chart reviews were carried out on all samples included in this study.ResultsA total of 59 active patients were included in this study. The Traveller community formed 14.4% (59 out of 410) of the active caseloads of the Tuam mental health service. There were more male than female Travellers who attended the service. Mean age was 36 years old. The most common mental disorder in this study cohort is depressive episode (F32). This is followed by mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (F41.2). A significant minority (9, 15.3%) of the study participants were given a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. 9 study participants await diagnostic clarification. Nearly one-fifth (18%, n=9) of the study participants with a diagnosis had been given a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Over 50% of the study participants were on at least 3 different medications from at least 2 different classes of psychotropics.ConclusionsThis study shows that there is a significant overrepresentation of Travellers attending the community mental health service in Tuam. The findings from this study can be used to plan future service development projects to better meet the needs of this unique population.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Going solo during the pandemic: a generational segmentation of solo female travellers

ABSTRACT This paper is driven both by a growing appetite for solo female travel; as well as a knowledge gap in the market and literature. The aim is to identify generational differences in women's solo travel motivations, characterize the generational differences in their preferred destination attributes, and ascertain any generational differences in their perceived inhibiting factors to travelling solo post the COVID-19 pandemic. By using the push–pull framework theory as the overarching framework, a survey was administered and 1576 responses from experienced solo female travellers were analysed. The findings revealed the different generations of solo female travellers and their distinctive travel needs (push factor/motivation, pull factor/destination preference, and inhibiting factors/risk & constraint) during the COVID pandemic.