Solo Travel Survey: Safety Named Biggest Concern

Solo travel is on the rise, according to a recent report from Visa. While traveling alone might not appeal to everyone, there are plenty of reasons why solo travel could be a good option for lots of adventurous travelers. And there are plenty of ways for destinations and travel companies to cater to those solo travelers as well. So how many are interested in traveling alone? We asked 1,000 respondents about this growing trend in the travel industry.

Travel Habits

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 12% of respondents said that they have traveled within the past week. 13% have traveled within the past month. 16% have within the past three months. Another 16% have traveled within the past year. 24% said that it’s been more than a year since they last traveled. And 21% said they aren’t travelers at all. More specifically, 8% of respondents said that they’ve traveled by themselves within the past week. 7% have within the past month. 9% have within the last three months. 11% have traveled by themselves within the past year. 24% said that it’s been more than a year since they last traveled by themselves. And 41% said they don’t ever travel by themselves.

Solo Travel

Looking forward, 33% said that they’re at least somewhat likely to take a vacation by themselves within the next five years. 43% of those respondents said that they’re likely to visit a large city within the US. 42% are likely to take a road trip of some kind. And 30% are likely to travel by themselves internationally. In addition, 57% said that they’re likely to take their own personal vehicle. 53% are likely to travel by plane. And 62% are likely to stay in hotels.

Travel Impact

Overall, 43% of respondents see flexibility as one of the main benefits of traveling alone. 40% think it can lead to cost savings. 29% think it can be an adventurous experience. And 30% said they see no benefit of traveling solo.On the other hand, 50% said they would have safety concerns about traveling on their own. 39% have concerns about loneliness. 37% would worry about getting lost. And 28% worry about boredom. Just 22% of respondents said they don’t have any concerns about traveling alone.

Key Takeaways

With solo travel gaining popularity, there are a few things that travel businesses like airlines, hotels and city-based tourism organizations can do to appeal to those travelers. For example, since flexibility and cost savings are seen as the major benefits of solo travel, it could be worthwhile to offer last minute deals for trips or attractions where there are limited spaces available. However, there are also a lot of concerns regarding solo travel. So businesses that cater to those travelers could potentially quell some of those concerns by calling attention to safety features or tips that are specific to those traveling alone. Potentially offering some type of check-in system or even just including a list of nearby safety contacts for travelers could make it easier for some people to take the leap into traveling alone. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Have since become a drifter! by Rajarshi MITRA under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on November 16-21 via AYTM’s online survey panel.