The solo travel trend has been mentioned a lot in Vietnam since 2019. Interestingly, this trend attracts a large number of women to participate. They have social status, are proficient in technology and have abundant finances.

About ten years ago, women traveling alone with backpacks (solo travel) was still a rare phenomenon. Close relatives often expressed concern and skepticism when hearing about someone's solo travel plans, even giving rise to negative thoughts. Today, when the majority of Vietnamese women are equipped with multi-dimensional information sources, traveling alone has become much easier.

According to the report “Solo Travel: Emerging Trends in the Vietnamese Travel Community” from The Outbox Company in 2019, the number of women traveling alone is twice that of men, mainly from the 8X and 9X generations. People travel alone because they want to relax, reduce stress and meet new friends.

At the beginning of this year, Ms. Cecilia Anh Van - Personal Branding Coach (ACC/ICF) living in Hanoi arranged her work and started a solo journey from Mong Cai (Quang Ninh) to Dat Mui (Ca Mau), passing through 28 coastal provinces and cities on a Honda Dream with a shiny new sticker given by her father in a period of 3 months. Traveling to all regions, admiring beautiful landscapes never seen before, meeting new people is a dream she has cherished since she was 18 years old. It took her about 6 months to prepare all the expenses according to the plan she made in 2017.

The pressure from the busy life in modern society has made it difficult for many families and groups of friends to arrange time and agree on the cost for a trip together. For that reason, many Vietnamese women choose to travel alone (solo travel), not depending on and not having to wait for others. Traveling alone, they can still share their journey and interact with people through many social networking platforms.

Reader Nguyen Thu Thao - Communications specialist at a real estate company in Da Nang said that she traveled alone for the first time at the age of 25 and traveled all over the Southwest region at the end of 2021. During the trip, she took photos, interviewed and wrote articles to send to many travel and lifestyle magazines. For Thu Thao, traveling alone gives her time to reflect on work and social relationships in a quiet atmosphere and without the usual pressure.

“Traveling alone spontaneously, I can meet like-minded companions. We proactively connect with local people to experience the culture in the best way. I think, if I can overcome the feeling of loneliness in many situations, nothing can make it difficult for me anymore,” said Thu Thao.

Of course, it cannot be denied that traveling alone has many potential risks. On discussion forums, many female travelers are aware of the unfavorable situations that can happen when traveling anywhere. They spend time and effort to prepare a thorough plan, draw up plans to handle bad situations and accept the challenge of pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. There are many famous travel websites such asSolo Traveler, Women on the Road, Ha la la - Travel Storyteller, Nhi Dang…provides detailed information for solo travelers. BothTripAdvisor- The leading global travel review platform also opened a separate forum on the topic of what to do when traveling alone.

In Vietnam, the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak has promoted the strong development of online travel platforms (OTAs) serving small groups of customers or those traveling alone such as Traveloka, Klook, Tubudd, etc. The success of OTAs has a huge advantage in terms of abundant data sources, consistent promotions and modern technology in optimizing products and services towards personalization and localization of tourists' experience needs.

For female travelers traveling alone, they want to meet new friends. From there, tourists will have the most authentic view of the people and culture of the places they visit. That is the motivation that Ms. Vu Thi Thai An (Annie Vu) and her colleagues founded Tubudd in 2017, with the desire to build a travel platform connecting tourists and local guides (buddies), helping to personalize the trip according to their needs and bring the most local experiences. Through Tubudd, if tourists already have a schedule, buddy will arrange it accordingly. Or if they don't have a schedule, buddy can design the trip according to the tourists' wishes at a reasonable cost.

Solo travel is also a driving force that brings tourists closer to environmental responsibility and the people at the destination in a cognitive way.“no one is left behind”. The continuous problems of the Covid-19 epidemic, political tensions or global warming... have significantly affected the psychology and actions of female solo travelers. They are more interested in buying products and goods directly from local people without going through any intermediary units. This helps craftsmen enjoy the highest economic benefits from tourism activities.

Many Vietnamese female travelers strike a good balance between their interest in traveling alone and their vegan lifestyle. Not only limited to eating, travelers following a vegan lifestyle limit the use of cosmetics, fashion products tested on animals at their accommodations, and do not watch entertainment related to the exploitation of animals.

“When traveling alone, I can easily make vegetable meals or shop for vegan products at establishments owned by local people. That is a practical way for me to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the sustainable economy of the destination,” said Ms. Nguyen Bao Ngoc, a lecturer at a university in Ho Chi Minh City who often travels alone.

In short,

Now, along with OTAs, many traditional travel companies have quickly joined the race to "please" the growing community of female solo travelers. Because the trend of living fully - enjoying sustainably in the post-Covid-19 period promises the possibility that solo travelers are willing to spend more money on new and more personalized experiences. Another interesting common point that Travellive encountered in the female travelers randomly interviewed is that they are successful women with social status, high awareness and abundant financial resources. Traveling alone, they are not completely alone when they meet many people with similar conditions, habits and life perspectives during the trip.