Female Solo Travellers’ Safety Perceptions Through User-Generated Content: A Systematic Literature Review of Destination Trust Formation

Abstract

User-generated content (UGC) has become an important information environment through which female solo travellers interpret destination safety and form destination trust. This systematic literature review synthesises 20 peer-reviewed studies spanning quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, and review designs. The review follows the PRISMA 2020 reporting logic, applies the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) as described in the original manuscript, and uses a three-stage thematic synthesis supported by Atlas.ti version 23. Four connected themes are identified: motivational and empowerment perspectives; safety perception and risk negotiation; UGC mechanisms and destination trust formation; and generational and intersectional influences. Across the corpus, visual and textual UGC, eWOM, social media, travel blogs, and review platforms are associated with both cognitive safety assessment and affective destination imagery. These mechanisms are integrated in a conceptual framework in which safety perception and destination imagery contribute to destination trust, while traveller profile, cultural context, platform type, generation, and intersectional identity shape how UGC is interpreted. The framework is a conceptual synthesis rather than an empirically tested causal model. Because the studies use heterogeneous constructs, samples, platforms, regions, and outcome measures, their coefficients, correlations, percentages, and qualitative findings are not pooled. The review identifies priorities concerning longitudinal trust formation, non-Western and culturally conservative settings, platform-specific credibility, algorithmic visibility, real-time safety information, intersectionality, and authenticity of UGC.