SOLO TRAVEL - EXPLORATIVE INSIGHTS FROM A MATURE MARKET (SWITZERLAND)

This study examines solo travel, and offers a conceptual framework of solo travelers, a profile of these types of travelers (by socio-demographic characteristics), and a profile of travels (by specific descriptors). The data for this study emerged from a comprehensive survey of Swiss travel behavior conducted 2004 by the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). The conceptual model proposes an a priori segmentation of four types of solo travel, delineated on the combination of the departure status (a single, one-person household, compared to a collective, multi-persons household) and arrival status (solo travel, compared to group travel), thus creating a two-by-two matrix with four segments overall. The results of the profiling 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