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

Year 2018, Volume: 27 Issue: 2, 111 - 126, 24.12.2018

Bahar Kaba , Gözde Emekli

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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