By Aqalili Azizan
Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir shares her vision moving forward this year and views on empowering women through travel.
Since 2017, Zafigo has been a platform for women who travel around the world while ZafigoX is the first-of-its-kind event in Asia comprising talks, panels, workshops and other activities geared towards travel-related topics and services.
Founder, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir shares her vision of enhancing women through solo travelling.
What are some of the changes in women travelling that you see throughout the years?
More women are travelling these days because women have more disposable incomes, and airfares have become cheaper. Women are the fastest-growing sector of the travel market, both as solo travellers and as the key decision-makers on travel for families.
But they are also breaking stereotypes about what women want when they travel. They don’t just want to shop and spa, they also want adventure, they want to meet people and experience the cultures overseas, and they want to do good by doing some community projects. They are more conscious and are doing more research on destinations that would be safe for them.
So the travel industry needs to catch up with these trends to cater to women travellers.
What was your first solo travel experience like?
My first solo travel experience was frankly scary. I was 16 years old, and my parents put me on a plane to Los Angeles via London to stay with family friends. I was so tense on the flight from KL to London that when we got off for a transit stop in Bahrain, I almost blacked out on the tarmac.
Then when I got to London, my cousin who was supposed to wait for me wasn’t there because she got the date wrong. But kind strangers helped me, which taught me that the world isn’t full of bad people. And I survived that first experience very well. A few years later, I travelled around the world on my own, and I was so much more confident.
Some people gain satisfaction and freedom when travelling alone. What about you?
I love travelling solo because it gives me the freedom to make decisions only for myself – where to go, what to see, when, and what to eat. The drawback is that I’m quite shy and not the sort of striking up conversations with strangers. I don’t mind eating alone though and I’ve found that some hotel concierges are quite good at recommending restaurants where it’s quite safe for women to be on their own.
Did you face any bad experiences while travelling on your own? How did you overcome the fear and challenges?
As mentioned before, my first experiences have been quite challenging for me. Since then I haven’t had any really bad experiences except that I once got mugged on the Paris subway but I yelled and made a fuss – at least got my wallet back with my credit cards intact! I think the key is to be well-informed and alert always. I was recently in New York and for the first time in my life took the subway on my own. I count that as a real triumph over fear.
Do you have any advice for the women out there who are taking baby steps to plan solo travel?
Everything is about preparing ourselves and doing your research. Being alert at all times is a must as there is no destination that is without risk, even in our own country. Take note of the several precautions you can take to avoid the worst things. Some things you can’t predict so you have to make sure you know how to manage things when they go wrong. This is why platforms like zafigo.com and ZafigoX exist, to give women enough information to assess situations objectively and decide for themselves.
But don’t spend your time being fearful or you may lose out on some fun, exciting experiences. What’s empowering is hearing stories about women travellers sharing their good experiences as well as bad experiences and how they came out of it safely. Empower yourself by travelling better and setting an example that you can manage yourself, even in unfavourable circumstances.
Be well informed and organise your itineraries well in advance too – that gives you a good head start to your travels. As I’m always repeating time and time, it’s all about knowledge because knowledge is power. As far as baby steps, start by going somewhere nearby, say around ASEAN. Then as you gain confidence, go further and further away.
Social media plays a significant role in travel. How Zafigo aims to be more of a positive travel tool?
ZafigoX and zafigo.com are powerful platforms where women can have open conversations and find solutions to the challenges they face. Working in women’s rights, I discovered that to empower women, you don’t always have to do it directly as there are many different ways. More and more women are travelling these days, and we see a whole different set of issues that they face when it comes to travelling.
From my experience with ZafigoX and zafigo.com, I find that women feel much more confident when they travel at least once on their own. And they can do that successfully when they have the right information and when they can hear from other women who have already done it. For the website, there is no shortage of stories as women are travelling more, travelling differently and are willing to share their stories and tips.
For the ZafigoX annual event, there are always women to invite to speak. And there are so many aspects to women’s travelling, that could only happen to women, which involves more than just getting from one place to another. Many people return every year because they love it so much. And we have a ZafigoX speakers alumni group, and they are so supportive of each other in the way only women can be. It’s such a positive and wonderful thing to see.
What is your favourite place to travel, and why?
Patagonia, Argentina and Chile – There couldn’t be a place further than Malaysia to go to. It’s almost at the South Pole. But so beautiful and so different from our country. I loved seeing the Perito Moreno glacier – a giant block of ice in the sunshine! And the mountains in the Torres del Paine National Park. We would get up early in the morning to see the sunrise. Very cold but if you’re dressed correctly, it’s well worth it.
What is your vision moving forward regarding Zafigo in 5 years? Are there any apps developed to help female travellers out there and maybe some sneak peek for ZafigoX 2020?
We plan to make it an annual affair. Still, we also hope to make it go broader than Malaysia, to other countries and cities in the region, and everywhere else, women may want to get together and share experiences.
Moving forward, we hope to evolve ZafigoX into the one platform where we can connect women travellers, especially when you are travelling solo or visiting a new destination.
