Profile, Motivations, and Experiences From Portuguese Solo Female Travelers

Abstract

The segment of independent travelers has experienced big growth in recent years, not only worldwide but also in Portugal. This phenomenon, which is not recent, has been gaining momentum in recent times, with women playing an important role. This chapter explores the literature on solo female travel, seeking to understand the motivations, as well as the difficulties encountered during the journey. To this end, a qualitative approach was used, with semi-structured interviews being conducted to 24 Portuguese women. The content analysis of the interviews was done with the assistance of the WebQDA software. Results show that most women traveling alone are young, single, and childless, identifying themselves mostly as adventurous, outgoing, and independent. The lack of travel companion, the freedom of choice, the experience and adventure, and the escape from the daily routine are highlighted as motivations to travel alone. The main difficulties identified are loneliness, harassment, fear of walking alone at night or being robbed.