Saudi Arabian city Madinah ranked safest in the world for solo female travellers

Dubai in the UAE was named the world’s 3rd-safest city for women travellers

Travel insurance website InsureMyTrip has named Madinah (Medina in English) in Saudi Arabia as the world’s safest city for solo female travellers to visit.

InsureMyTrip used a cross-section of available data for 65 cities and gave each one a score out of 10.

Known as ‘The Enlightened City’, Madinah earned a score of 10/10 based on how safe women feel walking alone at night, despite their gender. While visiting Madinah, women are not required to wear the traditional abaya robe, but they are required to dress modestly.

RELATED:
MSC Cruises introduces female-only facilities for Saudi market
Saudi Arabia builds world’s first offshore oil rig-style tourist resort
Thailand’s ambitious plan to welcome 200,000 Saudi Arabian visitors

Thailand’s Chiang Mai came in second with a score of 9.06. Another destination in the GCC, Dubai, came in third with a safety score of 9.04.

According to research by Condor Ferries, 84% of solo travellers are women

Top 5 safest cities in the world for female solo travellers are: 

1. Madinah, Saudi Arabia, 10/10
2. Chiang Mai, Thailand, 9.06/10
3. Dubai, UAE, 9.04/10
4. Kyoto, Japan, 9.02/10
5. Macao, China, 8.76/10

South Africa’s Johannesburg had the lowest safety rating at 0 out of 10, attributed to its high crime rate.

Top 5 least safe cities in the world for female solo travellers, according to InsureMyTrip: 

61. Paris, France
62. Jakarta, Indonesia
63. Delhi, India
64. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
65. Johannesburg, South Africa

SIGN UP NOW: GET THE CONNECTING TRAVEL SAUDI NEWSLETTER

Commenting on the findings, InsureMyTrip senior vice president Suzanne Marrow said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe while travelling. At InsureMyTrip we strive to take the worry out of travel, because it should be fun. We hope this study empowers more women to travel, with or without a companion.”

Safest Cities in the World: InsureMyTrip Top 10

Cities were ranked based on data points relating to cost, safety and gender equality based on research by World Economic Forum, and women’s inclusion, justice and security based on research by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. The quality of tourism was based on Google review data and the number of posts each city amassed under popular solo female travel hashtags, such as #sheisnotlost and #girlslovetravel.

For more information and to see the full listing, visit www.insuremytrip.com/travel-advice/travel-inspiration/best-cities-solo-female-travel/