The ‘normality of unsafety’- foreign solo female travellers in India

ABSTRACT

India is generally characterised by a high level of crime against women, particularly domestic and sexual violence. Media, travel-related organisations, and scholarly research have all addressed this issue, especially after a series of rape cases occurred in the country since 2012. Yet, foreign female travellers’ perceptions of safety in India have not been explored in detail by scholars. This is particularly true within the context of solo female travel, which is a growing trend in India. This paper attempts to address this knowledge gap by focusing on foreign solo female travellers’ experiences in India. Based on an analysing of 21 foreign solo female travellers’ online blogs, this paper contends that although tourist spaces and destinations perceived as risky, such as India, may produce high concerns about safety, they only represent one of the several unsafe spaces that women have to navigate through in both their mundane and touristy routines. Importantly, by arguing that solo female travellers have internalised the ‘normality of unsafety’, this paper questions whether solo female travel is a phenomenon that challenges gendered structures of power.

KEYWORDS:

• Foreign solo female travellers
• safety
• online blogs
• India

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Toney K. Thomas is an Associate Professor in Tourism at Taylor's University, Malaysia. He is interested in destination benchmarking, destination development studies and enablers of tourism.

Paolo Mura is an Associate Professor in Tourism at Taylor's University, Malaysia. He is interested in tourist behaviour, gender and qualitative research.