Following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions around the world and the slow return to normal in 2022, solo travel has been gathering momentum as travellers forgo waiting for companions to join them and rather head out when it suits them and to the destinations they feel like travelling to in recent months.
According to data from the travel search engine Cheapflights.co.za, there has been around a 172% increase in flight searches for solo passengers over this Christmas and New Year period compared to the equivalent search period in pre-pandemic 2019.
As the solo travel trend gained momentum in 2022, millennials are automatically thought of as the epicentre of this burst of growth in the solo travel trend.
However, boomers seem to be taking up the solo travel momentum, too, as there is a notable surge in boomers travelling solo as well.
According to Tony Mallam, MD of upnup, Africa’s first passive micro-saving and investing platform, while Millennials represent the larger portion of the solo travel pool, mature globetrotters are closing the gap, and boomers had the equivalent experiences during lockdown periods, so are in the same position as millennials with regards to their views on travel, and maximising their life experiences.
“Baby boomers are either looking towards retirement or are already in this life stage. For the portion of the population that has invested in retirement savings, this means that they will have both time and income to put towards travelling to the places they’ve always wanted to visit,” said Mallam.
Stats also revealed that women are also drivers in solo travel while solo travel as a whole is seeing ballooning interest.
One of the key factors behind this could be that the flexibility of the remote work culture, women being financially independent, and the desire and confidence of women to travel where and when they want to, have dropped the constraints holding them back.
Nicol Carelse, Guest Relations Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, said that women are more empowered now than ever before.
“They are using this sense of empowerment to embrace life and experience different countries and cultures around the world. There is no reliance on anyone - just themselves - and women are taking their travels into their own hands to experience the best that the world has to offer,” said Carelse.
With that being said, here are the top 10 countries with the highest safety rankings according to the Numbeo Safety Index Mid-Year 2022.
- Qatar (safety ranking 85.85)
- United Arab Emirates (safety ranking 85.13)
- Taiwan (safety ranking 83.85)
- Isle Of Man (safety ranking 81.72)
- Oman (safety ranking 80.28)
- Hong Kong (safety ranking 78.38)
- Armenia (safety ranking 78.25)
- Switzerland (safety ranking 77.88)
- Japan (safety ranking 77.76)
- Slovenia (safety ranking 76.83)
With so many wonderful and popular destinations for solo travellers to explore, choosing a destination that offers a great travel experience and has a high safety ranking is a good place to start.