While solo travel research has contributed to the literature,
the majority of these studies define the solo traveller from an
arrival-status perspective and offer little indication about the
general characteristics of solo travelling. As noted, most research
has a gender focus, particularly on the motivations
and constraints of female solo travellers (e.g., Wilson,
2004). Thus, the current research is quite limited and does
not sufficiently explain the general solo holiday experience
for travellers or consider the main motivators and drivers of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Tourist satisfaction is vital
for the success of tourism destinations since it influences
choice, spending, repurchase intention and recommendations
to family and friends (Yoon & Uysal, 2005; Eusébio &
Viera, 2013). On the other hand, dissatisfaction with tourism
services can lead to switching providers, complaining
behaviour and negative word-of-mouth (Sánchez-García &
Currás-Pérez, 2011).
Using a critical incident technique (CIT) methodology
(Flanagan, 1954), this study aims to explore the main motivations
and drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction for solo
travellers during a holiday experience. The findings will help
tourism destination managers make more effective marketing
decisions and target this segment of the population with
customized marketing strategies. The remainder of this paper
considers a literature review on customer experience and solo