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Sustainable Development and Gender Equality: Empowerment Through Solo Female Travel Experiences

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Planning and Managing Sustainability in Tourism

Part of the book series: Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management ((THEM))

Abstract

With the adoption of the United Nations 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, there is a growing need to examine the intersectionality and spillover effect between female solo-travel, sustainability in tourism and women empowerment. This chapter investigates the role of solo female travel in contributing to the agenda, specifically Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality). Drawing from 12 in-depth interviews, the chapter investigates the empowerment process of solo female travellers from the MENA region using Kabeer’s model of empowerment; specifically, women’s motivations to travel, pre-travel constraints, risks faced during their trips, as well as their negotiation strategies and agency are examined. The results show that the main motivations of solo female travellers include self-discovery, exploring new cultures, getting to know people in addition to gaining full independence. The main constraint includes women’s pre-travel pertained safety rather than gendered socio-cultural constraints. Nevertheless, women exercised their agency through using multiple negotiation strategies, including creating connections with networks abroad, planning their trips extensively and utilising business solo-travel opportunities. As for the risks which women faced during their trips, these were associated with crimes, services, and Islamophobia. Despite this, women sought solutions and empowered themselves through challenging their internal fears, creating safe spaces in public space and seeking acquaintance.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt

    Suzan Bakry Hassan

  2. The Center for Migration and Refugee Studies, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

    Aya Khaled Damir

Authors
  1. Suzan Bakry Hassan
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  2. Aya Khaled Damir
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus

    Anna Farmaki

  2. Business School, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Levent Altinay

  3. University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

    Xavier Font

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Hassan, S.B., Damir, A.K. (2022). Sustainable Development and Gender Equality: Empowerment Through Solo Female Travel Experiences. In: Farmaki, A., Altinay, L., Font, X. (eds) Planning and Managing Sustainability in Tourism. Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92208-5_12

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