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Solo travel: Explorative insights from a mature market (Switzerland)

Institute for Public Services and Tourism University of St. Gallen Dufourstrasse 40a 9000 St. Gallen Switzerland, christian.laesser{at}unisg.ch

Pietro Beritelli

Institute for Public Services and Tourism University of St. Gallen Dufourstrasse 40a 9000 St. Gallen Switzerland

Thomas Bieger

Institute for Public Services and Tourism University of St. Gallen Dufourstrasse 40a 9000 St. Gallen Switzerland

This study examines solo travel, and offers (1) a conceptual framework of solo travelers, (2) a profile of these types of travelers (by socio-demographic characteristics), and (3) a profile of travels (by specific descriptors). The data for this study stem from a comprehensive survey of Swiss travel behavior conducted in 2004 by the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland).

The conceptual model is derived from transportation research. It proposes an a priori segmentation of four types of solo travel, delineated on the combination of the (1) departure status (a single, one-person household, compared to a collective, multi-persons household) and (2) arrival status (solo travel, compared to group travel), thus creating a two-by-two matrix with four segments overall.

Solo travelers basically either tend to foster an existing social network or try to nurse their curiosity and at the same time look for new social contacts. The results of the profiling further reveal significant differences between the solo travel groups, as well as towards a control group incorporating all other travel. They include income, profession, and age, as well as familiarity with the destination, choice of type of accommodation, expenditures and various types of trips. However, no significant differences can be reported with regard to the choice of destination.

Key Words: consumer behavior • market segmentation • solo travel • travel profile

Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 3, 217-227 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1356766709104268


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