Most Solo Travellers Are Women

[soos_mite_ah]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2024/02/22/women-love-to-travel-men-not-so-much/

I saw a number of sources talking about how women are travelling solo more than ever. I'm a little iffy about the stats because some articles say that 60% of solo travellers are women while other articles say the number is as high as 85%. The common reason that is cited as to why this is the case is because women have more freedom now and since women were more restricted in the past, women see travelling as more of an empowering thing to do on their own and celebrate the freedom they have now.  But as I was reading these articles, rather than wondering why there are so many women travel, I was wondering why men don't travel as much. 

Granted this is anecdotal experience, but in my family in my generation, I noticed the women traveled alone more often and are more well travelled. I have also noticed something similar in my social circle as well and this is true in my romantic relationship. I have travelled internationally numerous times and I have gone to about 26 out of 50 states in the US. My boyfriend on the other hand never traveled abroad and doesn't really care to unless he was with me or with family.

I think a lot of it has to do with our personal life experiences regarding our difference in the way we view travel. He mentioned that the type of travel that he was exposed to growing up wasn't a super engaging form of travel. Either they would visit family or lay on the beach. His dad did frequently travel internationally but it was only for work. He mentioned that prior to listening to my travel experiences and the way I experienced travel growing up, to him travel seemed much more passive in a recreational context or something that had to be done for a specific utility such as visiting friends and family or for work. While my boyfriend isn't a super hustle culture kind of person, as we were brainstorming, we were thinking that a lot of guys think that if there isn't a specific utility for travel, it's seen as pointless. Like I wouldn't be surprised if some guys fall into the mindset of travel being this frivolous thing that wastes time and money that could otherwise be used to further their financial and career goals since men put more weight on that regarding their sense of self. 

I later talked to a guy friend who is really into travel and who comes from similar experiences as myself. His reasoning was that women tend to value adventure and whimsy more then men and that a lot of men struggle with being in their own company and genuinely enjoying that regarding exploring their inner world and introspecting. I pointed out that often times, people think that the stereotypes between men and women are reversed compared to what he thinks and then we discussed how a lot of stereotypes between men and women are flipping compared to what they were about 25 years ago. Like for example, I remember in the 90s and early 2000s there was a whole trope telling women to not mention or bring up how much they want marriage and kids because then it will scare the men away and you won't be the cool girl. But now, men are more likely to want things like marriage and kids while women are hesitant. Single women are also outpacing men when it comes to homeownership as well as in terms of getting a higher education. 

Since this is a male dominated forum, I was wondering what y'all think. 

[LordFall]

47 minutes ago, soos_mite_ah said:

Like I wouldn't be surprised if some guys fall into the mindset of travel being this frivolous thing that wastes time and money that could otherwise be used to further their financial and career goals since men put more weight on that regarding their sense of self. 

100%, I would never travel if it wasn't to meet women or to entertain the women I'm dating. I don't know to me I already have all the cuisine options in any big city I've lived in and what am I going to gain from travelling looking at the different bricks they use in Europe or have some random people tell me about how they live in a way that's probably not useful to me and I can watch a video to understand?

I think women are more about living life and men are more about conquering and competition then finally relaxing. Most things that don't give me a benefit I find quite useless and I have high treshhold for stimulation so if I were to travel I would need to have like a tens of thousands dollar budget to enjoy it and it would be mostly for content or like I said to go experience a new type of woman.

I mostly only like building systems and testing them against reality and other people otherwise life is very boring. I also meditate pretty much everyday so it's not really a being present to the moment type of thing its just that why am I alive in this moment if not to gain a better moment sooner rather than later or I'm kinda stagnating or decaying. 

[Basman]

Don't generalize too much. Travel is kind of a suburban middle class thing any way. Course a bunch of vsco white girls are going to travel a bunch. They've been practically brainwashed to. And they can afford it because their parents are rich. No Amazonian hut dweller feels they need to travel to Paris.

Personally I'm a lot less inclined to travel without company. I don't really care that much, enough to justify traveling by myself at least. 

[aurum]

I’ve traveled enough at this point to realize that life is pretty similar no matter where I go. It doesn’t do much for me anymore.

The things I actually care about require dedicated focus and stability, not just traveling around.

[LordFall]

1 hour ago, Basman said:

Don't generalize too much. Travel is kind of a suburban middle class thing any way. Course a bunch of vsco white girls are going to travel a bunch. They've been practically brainwashed to. And they can afford it because their parents are rich. No Amazonian hut dweller feels they need to travel to Paris.

Personally I'm a lot less inclined to travel without company. I don't really care that much, enough to justify traveling by myself at least. 

She's right it's currently one of the top differientiators in young men and women, 80% of solo travellers being women is not a generalization it's a majorly significant trend that points at major psychological differences and life experiences between genders.

[Mayonnaise]

i think traveling is important. But mainly for seeing different forms of consciousness (like cities) across the globe. and also, how your mind interacts with different locations. Consciousness in general loves to create and explore. New places, new people, new experiences. New lifestyles. New lives. But no matter where you go, you're still sitting in the same spot for eternity....  its still cool to experience nonetheless 

[Basman]

1 hour ago, LordFall said:

She's right it's currently one of the top differientiators in young men and women, 80% of solo travellers being women is not a generalization it's a majorly significant trend that points at major psychological differences and life experiences between genders.

The absolute reach of vsco, stanley cups and those fucken fjellraven backpacks. Corny as. 

[Basman]

Just broke up with my bf. Need to go to france real quick brb

[LordFall]

I'm confused about why your posts have resenment in them. Why are you upset about this? 

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

Travel for women, i.e. frivolous materialism and "seeking experiences" lmao

3 hours ago, Basman said:

Just broke up with my bf.

Now that explains a lot. A lot of you  🥷s here are not representing the majorities, if you know what I mean

[soos_mite_ah]

6 hours ago, Basman said:

Don't generalize too much. Travel is kind of a suburban middle class thing any way. Course a bunch of vsco white girls are going to travel a bunch. They've been practically brainwashed to. And they can afford it because their parents are rich. No Amazonian hut dweller feels they need to travel to Paris.

6 hours ago, aurum said:

I’ve traveled enough at this point to realize that life is pretty similar no matter where I go. It doesn’t do much for me anymore. The things I actually care about require dedicated focus and stability, not just traveling around.

I think the way people travel and why can vary a lot. Some people travel to relax, lie on a beach, or stay in a resort for a few days. Some people travel to widen their perspective. For some, travel is escapism, for others, it's a form of education. A lot of it has to do with what people value and what experiences people seek out. I've seen situations where people act super well traveled but even though they have been to 20+ countries, they're still closed minded, their trips were glorfied international benders, or their style of travel is just an extention of their consummerism.

4 hours ago, Mayonnaise said:

i think traveling is important. But mainly for seeing different forms of consciousness (like cities) across the globe. and also, how your mind interacts with different locations. Consciousness in general loves to create and explore. New places, new people, new experiences. New lifestyles. New lives. But no matter where you go, you're still sitting in the same spot for eternity....  its still cool to experience nonetheless 

I agree. I have also met a ton of people who have learned a lot from their travels and have gotten new perspectives from the different cultures and histories they have interacted with. Plus, travelling can also be a good way to break from your routine and rewire old patterns you have had by going to a different setting for a little bit. 

I remember growing up, since my parents liked to travel domestically, they took me on a bunch of trips to see various sites around the U.S. and tie it back to what I was learning in school. Some of the most memorable trips include when we went to Hawaii to check out the volcanos, when we went to Gettysburg to learn about the Civil War, and when we went to various sites across New Mexico that preserved the dwellings and ways of life for Native Americans. Most of the trips my family did involved a full itinerary where we were out and about all day or driving around. We mainly stayed at kind of sketchy motels, ate breakfast at the motel, and then had an early dinner to keep costs low.