More women in Asia want to travel solo

Solo travel is on the rise among women in South-east Asia, according to the findings of a survey released this week

The TripAdvisor survey, conducted last month, found 48 per cent of women in South-east Asia saying they have travelled alone before, compared to 36 per cent last year.

And among those who have travelled solo previously, nearly eight in 10 said they were planning to travel alone this year, slightly higher than the global average of 74 per cent, and just behind women in Australia and UK (81 per cent), and Germany and France (91 per cent).

Almost half of the women in South-east Asia surveyed said they were planning two to four solo trips this year.

The survey interviewed 9,181 female respondents in Australia, US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Russia and South-east Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand). Of the group, 431 respondents were in South-east Asia.

Women in the US ranked the lowest for women planning to travel alone this year at 63 per cent.

The reasons women in South-east Asia cited for travelling alone include the freedom to do whatever they want (60 per cent), the independence and challenge of travelling on their own (45 per cent) and that their family or friends do not have the time or resource to travel with them (32 per cent).

To be safe, they take precautions such as avoiding going out late at night, quiet streets and behaving like a tourist.

When it comes to their solo travel destination, 77 per cent of women in South-east Asia cited Asia. This was followed by Europe (44 per cent) and North America (14%).

According to TripAdvisor reviews by solo female travellers globally, the top Asian destination is Bangkok, followed by Singapore, Siem Reap, Bali and Hong Kong. The top reviewed long-haul destination is London, followed by Paris, New York, Rome and Barcelona.