To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8, we dedicate this article to honor the contributions of those who identify as women to the tourism industry.
In this homage to female travel business owners and entrepreneurs, we focus on the evolution of women in the travel sector. And we highlight their innovative contributions to the world of tourism.
In this feature, you’ll meet ten women from around the world who are making an impact in tourism. Each in her own way is dedicated to the upliftment of women, and the creation of employment opportunities for the most vulnerable.
Let’s take a closer look at these innovative women.
The Role Of Women In The Tourism Industry
Women have traditionally filled many different roles in tourism. They still account for the majority of the tourism workforce. But they tend to work in lower-paying and lower-status positions in this field.
For example, women desk clerks at hotels and resorts are paid 11% less than their male counterparts.
That is changing though, as all around the world, women are making an impact in tourism as well as other industries.
Women are making great strides in ecotourism, socially responsible tourism, and empowerment initiatives that encourage more women to enter the travel and tourism sectors.
10 Astounding Female Travel Business Owners And Tourism Entrepreneurs
We put together a list of outstanding women in the field of tourism and travel, who are the prime examples of this pioneering spirit. They come from diverse backgrounds, but all share a love for people and a passion for travel.
These are but a few of the countless females making their presence felt and their voices heard in the tourism industry. They embody the principles found in great business people.
They have ambitious goals, a positive mindset, and use their collective voices to deliver targeted solutions around issues in their communities.
Sara Mansouri & Lola Akinmade Åkerström
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Not only did Sara Mansouri and Lola Akinmade Åkerström not let the pandemic hold them back, but these women chose to launch a business together right in the middle of it.
With their combined 15+ years of experience in business, HR, and IT, and Lola’s travel know-how, they are the perfect duo. And their business experience sure came in handy in launching their enterprise.
Image from LinkedIn
Lola and Sara initially co-founded Local Purse to give local artisans and craft businesses in Marrakech an online marketplace where they could sell their wares.
The live video marketplace has since expanded to include vendors from around the world.
Stephanie Woollard
Image from LinkedIn
Stephanie Woollard began Seven Women in 2006 at the tender age of 22 after meeting seven disabled women working in a shack in Kathmandu.
With her last $200, Stephanie paid for training to teach the women how to produce items that could be sold both locally and abroad. And that’s how sevenwomen.org was born.
Seven Women and its sister organization, Hands-On Development, operate a guesthouse, a fair-trade clothing workshop, and a culinary school.
Stephanie’s organization places a strong emphasis on empowering disabled and marginalized women. These women are provided with training and are employed as tour guides and workshop facilitators.
Over the years, Seven Women has made a big impact on people’s lives. Here are some examples:
More than 3000 people have learned about social enterprise through a visit to the Seven Women Headquarters.
Over 5,000 Nepalese women have been educated, trained, and employed by Seven Women.
Speaking opportunities have allowed Stephanie to reach more than 30 000 people, teaching them that everyone can make a difference.
Today, Stephanie is a regular public speaker at women’s events, educating others about the work her organization does.
Nazy Dakishvili
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Nazy Dakishvili wanted to change the world’s perception of the Georgian community. Her solution was to develop and encourage tourism in the area. And this go-getter has certainly achieved that.
After setting up a successful guesthouse in her home, Nazy decided to help the other women in her community to establish businesses.
Nazy soon became the driving force behind the Pankisi Valley Tourism and Development Association and is currently its executive director.
In 2018, Nazy’s Guest House was awarded the Best Community-Based Tourism Project in Georgia’s National Tourism Awards and has been featured in a documentary about her efforts to bring about change.
She is expanding her reach to encourage neighboring Georgian villages to start their own tourism initiatives.
Eyitemi Popo
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Eyitemi Popo is the Founder of Girls Trip Tours, a travel experience focused on female empowerment. They host trips to various African destinations to empower future women leaders through mentorship.
Girls Trip Tours assist female travelers to explore Africa safely. While doing so, they make an impact on the next generation of female leaders across Africa through their mentorship program.
Their mentorship program is called Girls MAP. It provides top-achieving female students around Africa with access to internships, business grants, and scholarships.
Their tours include sightseeing and dining with high-profile local business people and industry leaders.
Eyitemi Popo continues to focus on women-focused initiatives throughout Africa.
Aukje van Gerven
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Aukje van Gerven has an MA in Law and History. But her love of travel and nature, as well as her business skills, paved the way for her to become a role model for female tourism entrepreneurs.
A travel experience in which she cycled from Tanzania to the Netherlands opened her eyes to the importance of supporting local communities.
She started on this path by becoming the Director of a non-profit organization called Respect the Mountains. This movement is aimed at raising awareness of sustainable environmental practices and preserving mountain ecosystems.
She is currently the Operations Manager at European Safari Company, where she handles partnerships, training, and product development. European safari is a nature-based European travel company, dedicated to the rewilding of Europe.
Aukje is currently still active in her efforts to promote nature-based tourism with her Rewilding Europe initiative.
Heather Greenwood Davis and Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
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Heather Greenwood Davis is the only black woman to ever have a travel column in both national newspapers in Canada.
She is the host of a business travel podcast, Tarmac Warriors. Heather’s international travel blog Globetrottingmama.com, features trips taken by her and her family.
Image from JetSetSarah
Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon is the travel expert behind JetSetSarah.com, a fun travel, style, and shopping blog site.
Together, these phenomenal women have contributed to publications such as Travel & Leisure and AFAR. But they decided to put their combined literary talents and knowledge of travel to even greater use.
Heather and Sarah collaborated with Trip Advisor to create a Black History Month travel feature during the pandemic, to inspire people of color to travel and get in touch with their ancestral roots.
Heather continues to write about travel and is a highly sought-after keynote speaker. While Sarah keeps busy exploring and sharing the joy of travel.
Judi Wineland
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Founded in 1982 by travel pioneer Susan Eckert, the women-owned and female-run company AdventureWomen was bought by Judi Wineland and her daughters in 2016.
In 1978, Judi Wineland was one of the first women to launch and run her own adventure travel company, Overseas Adventure Travel.
But she didn’t stop there. In the years that followed she established Thomson Safaris, Thomson Treks, Thomson Family Adventures, and Thomson Collection. And to crown it all, she added AdventureWoman to the mix.
This family of adventurous women is at the forefront of women’s adventure travel, offering exciting trips for women to more than 65 countries.
Judi recently announced that she will be hosting a women’s safari to Zimbabwe in May 2022 as part of a partnership with the African Wildlife Foundation.
Zakia Moulaoui Guery
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Zakia Moulaoui Guery is the founder of a social enterprise called Invisible Cities.
This inspirational organization trains people who are affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides of their city. These tour guides then offer alternative tours to both tourists and locals.
Invisible Cities not only gives hope to those who most need it. It offers tourists a unique perspective of city life, from the eyes of those who know these streets like no other.
The high-quality training provided by Invisible Cities empowers these new tour guides to craft and deliver unique tours; highlighting monuments, people, and places of their own choosing.
Invisible Cities has won several international awards and continues to teach people to help themselves.
Chosen as Best Community Tour in the World by Lonely Planet for their Best in Travel List 2021, Invisible Cities is now in 4 cities in the UK. Zakia has plans to extend its outreach further.
In Conclusion
Sisters are doing it for themselves, as the saying goes. Women around the world are making great strides in business, especially in the field of tourism.
The tourism sector was one of the worst affected by the pandemic. But these ladies did not let that get in their way. There are so many impactful women who, like them, have continued to pave the way for safer, innovative, and more enriching ways to explore the world around us.
Contact us if you’d like us to feature someone who embodies the characteristics of the powerful visionaries mentioned above.
Watch this space for more inspiring stories from other women making a difference in the travel industry.
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