Decoding Women Travelling Solo + #WeGoSolo Contest Results.

One month ago, when I became one of the four worldwide ambassadors of the #WeGoSolo movement and announced a contest in partnership with Hostelbookers, I didn’t know that it was my turn to be inspired.

I received over a hundred entries to the contest, and besides sharing your dream solo travel destinations literally in every part of the globe, you shared your stories and how you faced or plan to face your challenges. As the sisterhood of women travelling alone grows from strength to strength, the time has come to announce the contest results (oh yes, the EUR 150 voucher from Hostelbookers.com) and answer the big questions – why women travel alone, and what is on their list of dream solo travel destinations.

#WeGoSolo Contest Winner

I assigned serial numbers to the 100+ entries on Excel, and picked one random number. (Un)fortunately, it turned out that the first winner didn’t answer the “Going it alone” survey, which was mandatory to win the contest. So the randomization happened again, and this time the winner picked did qualify! So here goes, the winner of the awesome prize, a 2 nights stay for two at any accommodation listed on Hostelbookers.com (upto EUR 150), is…. mini drum roll please… Ana Marie Bacul!

Congrats Ana! Don’t forget to tell us if you indeed made it to China, and where you ended up using your prize!

To all the other fab women who entered the contest, thank you for participating and sharing your dream solo travel destinations. I hope you make it there sooner than later! If you’re still contemplating why and how women travel solo, and what countries appeal to women travelling alone, the results from the survey should shed some light.

Women Travelling Solo – Why, Where and How

Three things that stood out for me:

India makes it to both, the top five places where women want to travel solo, and where women don’t want to travel solo! That brings me to the very foundation of this blog; quashing the misconceptions around India as a solo travel destination.
“Pressure from family” is the third biggest reason why women choose not to travel solo. I feel the need to emphasize that women can form the strongest support system for other women. If you’ve gone it alone, encourage your mother, sister, cousin, niece, daughter to go it alone, and let them pass on the baton further. Can you imagine how much a BIG community of solo female travellers can change the world and its thinking?
Confidence in women could be a self-fulfilling prophecy! As per the survey results, we women expect solo travel to boost our confidence, but also project a more confident attitude while travelling alone. Go figure 😉

A big thank you to Hostelbookers.com for supporting the #WeGoSolo movement, and sponsoring a generous prize for the contest. If you think hostels and budget hotels are mundane and not quite your thing, you’ve got to let Hostelbookers show you how to stay in style!

And here’s a shoutout to my partners in crime – Mariellen Ward of BreatheDreamGo, Amanda of A Dangerous Business and Sherry of OttsWorld; thank you for being together in this quest to take the WeGoSolo initiative to the next level 🙂

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Did anything in the survey results inspire / surprise you, about women travelling solo?

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Join The Shooting Star on Facebook and Twitter for more contests and travel stories from across the globe.

Share my travel fund initiative as I strive to break stereotypes and unearth more of the world’s best kept travel secrets.

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