A rising Trend in Tourism: Solo Women Travelers (The Case of Turkey)

Abstract

This research deals with solo travelling in case of women from Turkey in the intersection of tourism geography, cultural geography and feminist geography. It aims to understand their risk perceptions, destination choices and level of satisfaction related to solo travelling. Additionally, the research aims to reveal the social reactions that they get from their families, friends and local people of the destinations, based on their gender and travelling alone. The research is based on the qualitative analysis of 15 in-depth interviews conducted with solo women travellers. The participants were selected by purposive and snowball sampling methods. The result of analysis indicated that security is the most important factor in destination choice. Gender-based risks are the main determining factor on how women travellers perceive and decide solo travelling. Participants generally reported that they are highly satisfied with their solo travel experiences and have strong intention to continue their travels. The level of satisfaction is strongly related with the motives such as learning and experience, meeting new people and cultures, expansion of vision, self-confidence and empowerment.

Keywords

• Gender,gendered space,tourism,solo women travelers,Turkey

TURİZMDE YÜKSELEN BİR EĞİLİM: YALNIZ SEYAHAT EDEN KADIN GEZGİNLER (TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİ)

Abstract

Bu araştırmada, yalnız seyahat, Türkiye’de yaşayan kadın gezginler örneğinde, turizm coğrafyası, kültürel ve feminist coğrafya bağlamında ele alınmıştır. Araştırma yalnız seyahat eden kadın gezginlerin destinasyon seçimlerini, yalnız seyahate ilişkin risk algılarını ve memnuniyetlerini anlamayı amaçlamıştır. Bunlara ek olarak, yalnız seyahat söz konusu olduğunda kadınların toplumsal cinsiyet rolleri ile ilişkili aile, arkadaş ve akrabaları gibi sosyal çevrelerinden ve gezileri boyunca yerel halktan ne tür tepkiler aldıklarını anlamak da araştırmanın amaçlarındandır. Bu amaçlar doğrultusunda araştırmada, nitel bir araştırma süreci izlenmiş, bir görüşme formu aracılığıyla 15 katılımcı ile derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Örneklem seçiminde, amaçlı ve kartopu örnekleme yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonuçları, destinasyon seçiminde etkili olan en önemli faktörün güvenlik olduğunu göstermiştir. Ayrıca cinsiyete dayalı risklerin kadınların yalnız seyahate ilişkin algısını ve kararını etkileyen temel faktör olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Yine bulgular katılımcıların tek başına çıktıkları seyahat deneyimlerinden genel olarak memnun olduklarını ve yalnız seyahate devam etme niyetinde olduklarını göstermiştir. Öğrenme ve tecrübe, yeni insanlar ve kültürler tanıma, vizyon genişlemesi, özgüven artışı ve güçlenme bu memnuniyeti ve seyahat motivasyonunu etkileyen faktörlerdir.

Keywords

• Toplumsal cinsiyet,cinsiyetçi mekân,turizm,yalnız kadın gezginler,Türkiye

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