Female Entrepreneurs in the Travel Industry
To celebrate International Women’s Day we’re highlighting 12 amazing women in travel who are trailblazing the industry every day. 🏆 These women are changing the way we make and capture memories for the better, and we can’t wait to share with you their stories, initiatives, empowerment, and their positive impact in the travel and tourism industry! 🙋♀️
TLDR
Publishers & Communities
1. Beth Santos, Author of Wander Woman
Beth Santos is an entrepreneur, travel expert, and advocate for women’s empowerment. Beth is the founder and CEO of She’s Wanderful, a global community and platform aimed at empowering like-minded women to travel and explore the world confidently, supporting and inspiring each other in their travel experiences. 💁♀️ Beth is also the author of Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice and Travel the World Solo.
Beth is a proud advocate for diversity and inclusivity in travel, and her work has helped women travelers from different backgrounds gain confidence in exploring new destinations. Her efforts have led to creating events, content, and tools that foster a supportive travel community for women. She covers practical advice, tips on navigating solo travel, and how to break free from societal expectations and fear.
Hot tip! Here are some of our favourite solo female travel stories to inspire your next adventure! 👩💻
2. Sheena Bhattessa, Founder of Citizen Femme
Sheena Bhattessa is the founder of Citizen Femme, a luxury travel platform dedicated to women who love to travel in style. 💃 Citizen Femme offers curated travel guides, recommendations, and insights tailored to women seeking to explore the world with a focus on style, culture, and authentic experiences. Sheena has built a community of female travelers, influencers, and industry experts, providing a trusted resource for high-end travel and inspiring women to travel on their terms.
Sheena is passionate about promoting women’s voices in the travel industry, especially when it comes to sharing stories, experiences, and advice that empower women to confidently navigate the world. 🌎
3. Evita Robinson, Founder of Nomadness Travel Tribe
Writer and motivational speaker Evita Robinson is also the founder of Nomadness Travel Tribe, a global community and social network designed to connect and empower travelers of colour, especially Black travelers, who share a passion for exploring the world. ❣️ Nomadness Travel Tribe has grown into one of the largest and most influential travel communities, offering resources, events, and a platform where members can share their travel experiences, tips, and advice.
Evita’s work with Nomadness Travel Tribe has been instrumental in breaking stereotypes, addressing the lack of representation of people of colour in the mainstream travel industry, and in promoting DEI in the travel space. Evita has created a platform where travelers can connect with like-minded individuals, find support, as well as celebrate their shared experiences. 🫂
4. Katalina Mayorga, CEO of El Camino Travel
Katalina Mayorga is the CEO and founder of El Camino Travel. Katalina is passionate about using travel as a tool for personal growth, cultural exchange, and social impact. Katalina’s approach emphasizes experiential travel that fosters meaningful connections between travelers and local communities, while also promoting responsible tourism practices. Katalina is an advocate for the empowerment of women in the travel industry and for promoting diversity and inclusivity in the global travel space. 🤝
El Camino Travel is a travel agency and community dedicated to curating immersive, transformative travel experiences, authentic and off-the-beaten-path 🧭 adventure travel, and culturally rich and sustainable trips that allow travelers to engage deeply with the places and communities they visit.
Social Changemakers
5. Cristina Mittermeier, President of SeaLegacy
Cristina Mittermeier is a renowned conservation photographer, marine biologist, speaker, and writer. Cristina is also the co-founder and president of SeaLegacy, an organization dedicated to ocean conservation. 🌊
Cristina is one of the most influential figures in the world of environmental conservation, particularly through her work that highlights the beauty and fragility of marine life. 🐳 Cristina’s striking photographs have been published globally, and she has used her platform to advocate for sustainability practices and the protection of marine biodiversity.
In addition to her work with SeaLegacy, Cristina is a co-founder of The International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), an organization that brings together conservation photographers to advance environmental causes through the power of visual storytelling. 📸 Her work and activism focus on addressing the effects of climate change, ocean pollution, and overfishing, aiming to inspire a global movement for ocean conservation.
6. Iris Serbanescu, Founder of wmnsWORK
Iris Serbanescu is the founder of wmnsWORK, a platform and community focused on empowering women in the professional world, particularly in male-dominated industries such as technology, business, and leadership. Through wmnsWORK, Iris aims to provide support, mentorship, and resources for women to navigate and succeed in their careers while fostering a culture of inclusion, equity, and collaboration. 👭
wmnsWORK offers various initiatives such as networking opportunities, career development resources, and events designed to connect women across different sectors. By creating a supportive space, Iris hopes to inspire more women to pursue leadership roles, advocate for themselves in the workplace, and build strong professional networks. 💪
Travel Agencies & Mentors
7. Henley Vazquez, Founder of Fora Travel
Henley Vazquez is the co-founder of Fora Travel, a modern world travel agency that connects clients with expert travel advisors to craft personalized travel experiences, focusing on building lasting relationships between travelers and advisors rather than simply booking trips. ✈️
Henley co-founded Fora Travel with her partner, Kelsey Ferguson, with the mission to create a new kind of travel experience that goes beyond just logistics and incorporates deep, custom insights into destinations and activities. Through Fora, Henley has helped to reimagine the travel industry by empowering travel advisors and offering consumers access to meaningful travel experiences for all types of travelers (we love so many of their wellness-focused resources and ideas!). ❤️
8. Melissa Halliburton, Founder & CEO of BringFido
Melissa Halliburton is the founder and CEO of BringFido, a popular travel platform designed to help pet owners find pet-friendly accommodations, restaurants, activities, and services, making it easier to plan trips with pets in mind. 🐶
Melissa’s work with BringFido is driven by her passion for animals and her belief that pets should be included in the travel experience. 🐾 Through her platform, she has made it simpler for people to travel without leaving their pets behind, helping to create a more pet-inclusive travel industry.
9. Amanda Ho, Founder of Regenerative Travel
Amanda Ho is the founder of Regenerative Travel, an award-winning platform dedicated to promoting sustainable and regenerative tourism practices. The mission of Regenerative Travel is to empower travelers, tourism operators, and destinations to go beyond traditional sustainability by focusing on regenerative practices that restore and enhance the environments and communities they engage with. 👏
Amanda’s vision for Regenerative Travel is to create a travel model that not only minimizes the negative impact of tourism and the hospitality industry, but actively contributes to the regeneration of natural ecosystems, local cultures, and economies. The platform works with hotels, resorts, and travel providers that are committed to environmental, social, and cultural responsibility, offering travelers the opportunity to support destinations that are committed to regeneration. ♻
Travel Experiences
10. Camille Rumani, co-founder and COO of Eatwith
Camille Rumani is the co-founder and COO of Eatwith, a global platform that connects people with local hosts for unique dining experiences. 🍽 Eatwith allows travelers and food enthusiasts to book meals, cooking classes, and food tours with hosts in cities around the world, offering authentic and immersive culinary partnerships that go beyond traditional restaurants. (Bonue! We love the opportunity of gleaning the benefits of group travel and dining without the need to travel as a group!)
Eatwith has grown into a popular platform for food lovers looking for one-of-a-kind dining experiences, and Camille’s efforts have been instrumental in shaping its success by emphasizing community-building, sustainability, and cultural exchange through food. 🥕
11. Kiran Samra, Founder of Lokafy
Kiran Samra is the founder of Lokafy, a unique travel company that connects travelers with local guides for personalized, off-the-beaten-path 🤫, in-person experiences in cities around the world. Lokafy matches travelers with locals who share their interests and passions, with experiences designed to offer more intimate and customized tours rather than following typical tourist routes.
Kiran’s vision behind Lokafy was to bridge the gap between travelers and local cultures, creating opportunities for deeper connections and a more meaningful travel experience. Kiran has become an advocate for more sustainable and authentic forms of travel, where local communities benefit from tourism and travelers gain a richer understanding of the places they visit.
12. Nicole Smith, Founder of Flytographer
Last but certainly not least, our very own Flytographer founder, Nicole Smith! The idea for Flytographer came to Nicole in 2011 while on a trip to Paris with her best friend. 🥐 Nicole’s vision for Flytographer was to offer travelers a way to capture their trips in a meaningful and beautiful way by connecting travelers with local professional photographers for forever-special, tangible memories. Officially founded in 2013, Flytographer has grown into a global network with photographers in over 250 cities worldwide. 🗺 Flytographer has been embraced by couples, families, and solo travelers alike, all seeking to preserve their travel memories in a special, memorable way.
Read more about Nicole & the story behind Flytographer here!
Celebrating Women in Travel
We love supporting women in travel, female-led startups, and female-based entrepreneurship, particularly when it makes travel decisions easier! 😉 We encourage you to check out the women and businesses we’ve highlighted via their websites and social media— such an inspiration.
We honor and celebrate the brilliant women in our lives, the women and visionary ideas who came before, and all those who are thinking of and envisioning ideas to make the future even better! 🥂
Happy International Women’s Day! 💕
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