Breaking stereotypes: Indian women going solo to explore world

Even as there are various challenges faced by solo travellers, more and more women (70 per cent)in the country have either gone on a solo trip or are planning one, according to a recent survey.
About 37 per cent of Indian women travellers have done a solo trip while 33 per cent are open to the idea of travelling solo, revealed a recent survey commissioned by global travel search engine Skyscanner.
This was an online survey conducted among 1,000 women respondents across the country.
"It is encouraging to see that Indian women are increasingly breaking stereotypes and travelling alone. The results reveal that Indian women solo travellers prefer domestic destinations as much as overseas ones, and there is a huge potential for the travel and hospitality industry to tap into this growing segment," Skyscanner India Senior Marketing Manager Kavitha Gnanamurthy said.

She said, at the same time, there is an opportunity to further promote Indian destinations to solo travellers all over the world.
The Skyscanner survey revealed that while 33 per cent of women travellers preferred a well-planned itinerary to avoid last minute surprises, 26 per cent of respondents preferred a mix of planned and unplanned elements to discover and explore new places in their chosen destination.

While 19 per cent of women were more comfortable planning their solo travel through trusted agents, 16 per cent of respondents prefer to explore their chosen destination without a planned itinerary or tour, it added.

It revealed that 31 per cent of women travellers avoid taking solo trips due to safety and security concerns.
Fear of boredom (23 per cent), family disagreements (13 per cent) and leave from work (8 per cent) were also contributing factors to drop the idea of solo travelling.
Top solo destinations for both male and female travellers from the country, based on the flight searches by Indian travellers on Skyscanner, are Delhi, followed by Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru and Kolkata, it said.
When it comes to overseas destinations preferred by India solo travellers, London (UK) with its blend of Roman history and modern culture emerged as the most favourite followed by Toronto (Canada), Bangkok (Thailand), New York (US) and Dubai.