When did Sicilian women start to travel solo? : an exploration of three generations of women in Syracuse

Abstract

Talking about Sicilian women means speaking about a complex and contradictory reality, just as complex and contradictory as Sicily itself and its superstructural customs that led to many gendered issues. This long essay attempts to identify the social changes that led to the slow development of this relatively 'new' form of leisure tourism for women, solo travel, and its motivations and constraints. The present qualitative approach investigates three different generations of women in Syracuse, a rural region in Sicily, namely: the Silent Generation (1925-1945), Generation X (1965-1979) and Generation Z (1995-2012). The answers to the research questions were obtained through in-depth interviews with fifteen women, five of each generational group, both solo travellers and potential ones. The analysis highlighted the fact that solo travel in Sicily started with Generation X. The social changes that helped develop this type of travel were education, divorce, media and social media, and women's economic independence. Further, the researcher found five primary motivations for women to engage in solo travel by analysing the data, including knowledge, self-discovery, lack of a travelling companion, freedom and flexibility, and positive past experiences. However, four main constraints can negatively influence the travel patterns of solo travel: social beliefs and expectations, fear, family and friends, and loneliness and boredom. These can be overcome or not, depending on the age, education and the environment in which these women live. All in all, there is a general acceptance that women are more independent today. However, in the case of Syracuse, there are still many taboos. Nevertheless, solo travel is still a growing phenomenon in Syracuse, and further research needs to be carried out to gain a better understanding of its potentiality and benefits in Sicilian society.