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

ABSTRACTDue 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.由于女性群体的逐日壮大，女性独自旅行成为了一种流行趋势。现存的研究主要集中于独游女性的群体特征，展现了旅游动机和结果的基础描绘。有限的研究从性别和文化的人文角度来探索其如何决定，塑造和影响独游女性的旅游体验。为了探究文化，性别和独游女性之间的内在联系，本文采用定性法研究了41篇博文和12章深度访谈录诠释其现象。本文主要探究到虽然风险依存，但随时中国女性地位的逐渐提升，独游女性之体验呈良性发展趋势。然而，在中国传统价值观影响下，独游女性得不到支持，在落后偏远地区更为严重。本文主要贡献是证实了人文在塑造中国独游女性之体验的重要性。未来研究方向可采用多文化样本，探究独游女性在旅游不同阶段时，性别和文化是如何影响的。KEYWORDS: SolofemaletravelexperienceChinagender-culture关键词: 独自女性旅行体验中国人文 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsYaxin ChenYaxin Chen is an International student at the Department of Tourism,Sport & Hotel Management, Griffith University, Nathan Queensland, Australia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international tourism and hotel management (honours) from Griffith University. Yaxin’s research interests are gender and culture studies in tourism and Chinese tourism. She has co-published #MeToo book chapter in Tourism and Gender-based Violence: Challenging Inequalities.Elaine Chiao Ling YangElaine Chiao Ling Yang is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism at Griffith University. Elaine’s work focuses on the empowerment of marginalized groups in tourism, including women, children and migrants, as travelers, entrepreneurs, and workers. Most of her work entails an intersectionality lens that foregrounds the intertwined gender, race, and cultural identities. She also specializes in solo travel, Asian tourism, and visual research methods. Elaine is an associate editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism (Social Impact of Tourism) and editorial board member of Tourism Management Perspectives. Elaine has received multiple research awards, including the CAUTHE Fellows Award in 2023.Brent MoyleBrent Moyle is a Professor in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management, Griffith University. He takes an interdisciplinary approach to tourism research, partnering with researchers and communities to maximize outcomes. Brent conducts research at the interface between theory and practice, engaging extensively with industry partners to complete research with impact. His passion for sustainable regional development laid the foundations for a number of long-term collaborations with local government and parks agencies. Brent has published over 90 journal articles on sustainable tourism and conceptually related areas, with a number of external grants to support research initiatives.Truc H. LeTruc H. Le is a Lecturer in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management at Griffith University. She graduated with a PhD at Griffith University in 2020 and worked as a research consultant at EarthCheck Australia after graduation. Her research focus includes risks and resilience, risk perceptions, cruise tourism, authenticity, user-generated content analytics, and machine learning. She has published in various top-tier international tourism and hospitality journals such as Tourism Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Current Issues in Tourism, and Tourism Recreation Research.