1 in 2 Hong Kong travellers go solo: survey

28% said they needed to be alone.

Solo trips are proving increasingly popular for Hong Kong travellers, according to a recent survey from global travel search engine Skyscanner. The findings, from over 6,900 respondents across seven APAC countries, revealed that 53% of Hong Kongers had travelled solo. Amongst this group 78% had travelled alone more than twice, while 26% had enjoyed more than six trips on their own. This was well ahead of countries like India and Singapore, where the percentage of solo travellers were 43% and 29% respectively.

“In recent years, websites like Skyscanner have made travel more accessible to people all over the world; enabling them to find the best deals for trips and compare different travel options. The abundance of travel information available online, combined with smart travel tools, is allowing travellers in Hong Kong and across the region to easily plan and enjoy their dream solo adventures,” comments Fang Fang, Senior Marketing Manager, Skyscanner, Greater China.

When it comes to the motivations for solo travel, the survey revealed that among Hong Kongers 28% of respondents felt the need to ‘be alone’ was their biggest motivation, while 23% said it was ‘self-discovery’. And, in the hardworking environment of Hong Kong, 20% of respondents said their biggest motivation for travelling alone was ‘a break from their career’.

Meanwhile across the region; Singaporean solo travellers enjoyed the freedom of being alone and able to explore (26%), while Thai travellers wanted to avoid conflict with others whilst travelling (43%). Indian travellers were excited by the prospect of meeting new people (25%) and almost a quarter (22%) of Australians said they travelled alone because they didn’t have else to travel with.

With safety always a key priority for any traveller, the Skyscanner survey found that while females had more of a concern than males when travelling solo, the percentages—38% and 23% respectively—were still relatively low in the region, falling behind respondents from Taiwan, Thailand, India and Singapore. In comparison, 79% of female Singaporean respondents had concerns with travelling alone.

Among respondents, 5% listed ‘taking photos’ as a top concern, because as any Hong Konger knows, it’s important to have someone help you keep track of the food you eat and capture all the memorable moments of your trip!

Skyscanner’s data also revealed that the top three destinations for solo Hong Kong travellers are Japan, Taiwan, and Korea respectively, proving these locations are still all-time favourites for any type of traveller.