Abstract:

Developments in transportation and information technologies across worldwide have affected the tourism sector along with many other sectors. These developments provide tourists with the opportunity to organize their own tours, but also provide various advantages in terms to be used during the tour. Thanks to these advantages, individuals plan their vacations and travel alone. The concept of traveling alone includes travels made by only one person. Tourists traveling alone tend to make great progress in recent years, visit developing countries, adventure, relaxation and meet new people. However, personal development and unique experiences are important aspects of the concept of traveling alone. Tourists can travel alone as well as belonging to a group during their travels. There are some sources of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that lead individuals to travel alone. During these trips, individuals experience various kinds of experiences. In this context, the main purpose of the study is to examine generation Z tourists’ motivation and experience on the travel who travel alone. The study was designed with qualitative method and semi-structured interview technique was used. The sample of the research consists of 10 tourists in Generation Z traveling alone. The interview data was analyzed in the MAXQDA 2018 program. According to the findings, generation Z tourists determined their motivation to travel alone. They stated their motivations as seeing new places, meeting new people, seeking adventure, feeling of freedom, learning. However, they stated that thanks to traveling alone, their self-confidence increased and they mostly had positive experiences in their solo travels.

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