Women traveling alone: reflections on gender and tourism experiences

• Autor(a) principal: Carvalho, Gisele
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Baptista, Maria Manuel, Costa, Carlos
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34624/rtd.v0i23.11007

The consumption of tourism products and services of interest for women has been receiving a significant prominence in the global economy. Thus, there is a growing movement of women who travel independently, for several reasons. This study aims to contribute to a more in-depth discussion on gender issues in the tourism activity, with particular emphasis on independent travel is experienced by women. A deeper knowledge of these different forms of interaction is fundamental to the study of consumer behaviour in tourism, which, in addition to the potential economic benefits, presents itself as an opportunity to optimize the relations with the visited destinations, to emphasize respect for diversity, and to promote the appreciation of the culture and the idiosyncrasies of the ‘Other’. Therefore, it is important to study the tourism market in the perspective of gender issues and to identify which factors differently influence the motivations, the behaviours and the experiences of individuals (both men and women) whilst travelling abroad. This justifies the importance of understanding how the condition of ‘being’ a woman in the 21st century affects individual choices and preferences for leisure and thereby contributes to the deconstruction of firmly rooted stereotypes.