「经济学人」You can go your own way

More people are going on holiday alone

INTREPID YOUNGSTERS have long ventured abroad in search of edification and excitement. In 1608 Thomas Coryat, an Englishman sometimes called “the world’s first backpacker”, embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe. Friendless and on foot, Coryat discovered foreign delicacies (“frogs used for food”) and newfangled technologies (“forks used in feeding”).

Four centuries later, nomads move faster and farther than Coryat did, for cheap flights and mobile phones have made things more straightforward. Lone trips are also increasingly popular. In the past decade Google searches for “solo travel” have more than doubled. In Britain the share of travellers going on holiday by themselves has nearly tripled, says the Association of British Travel Agents, from 6% in 2011 to 17% in 2024.

Why are so many people going it alone? Just as Grand Tours became a rite of passage for young noblemen, solo travel today is less about finding far-flung places than finding yourself. Hilton, a hospitality company, calls the trend “me-mooning” (as opposed to “honeymooning”). Travel bloggers attest that on white-sand beaches in Bali or Belize you can “become a truer version of yourself”.

Those not searching for themselves are looking for an adventure. People “travel not to go anywhere, but to go”, as Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of “Treasure Island”, put it. Solo travellers describe the thrill of doing whatever they want, whenever they want. Research has shown that self-imposed solitude, unlike other forms of loneliness, can boost wellbeing.

And, rather than hanging out with the mates they have, many travel alone in order to meet new friends and lovers. The isolation of the pandemic made people “more open” to roaming with strangers, says Lee Thompson of Flash Pack, a tour operator. The firm, which uses the slogan “arrive solo, leave as friends”, now takes twice as many bookings as it did before covid-19.

Millennials and Gen Z are particularly keen on travelling: they spend a larger share of their income on trips than their older peers do, says McKinsey, a consultancy. Many are deferring getting married and having children, so have the flexibility to head off on jaunts when they please. On TikTok, influencers preach the virtues of independent excursions: “Stop waiting for someone to join you.”

Women, in particular, are embracing that mantra: by one estimate, 84% of solo travellers are female. A century ago etiquette books warned women not to travel without a male chaperone; today many say they are not afraid to travel unaccompanied (though safety tips are readily available online). Much as Coryat did 400 years ago, many women today have the means, and the time, to follow their feet. (May 12th 2025)

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