women make up 54 pc of the tourism workforce: Belevera Partners
Ahead of International Women’s Day, B2B travel tech communications and public relations agency, Belevera Partners, recently conducted research under the campaign For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” Under this campaign, Belvera Partners has sought insights from female leaders in the travel tech industry on what it takes to foster more women in leadership roles.
In a press statement, Belevera partners say that despite women making up 54 pc of the tourism workforce, only 15.6 pc of leaders in the B2B travel technology sector are female.
It further adds that according to UN Tourism, women in the industry are often confined to lower-paid, lower-skilled roles with limited opportunities for career growth. They also face higher barriers to education, training, and entrepreneurship.
Additionally, Belevera partners also say that funding remains a significant barrier for female entrepreneurs.
“Female founders only get two percent of all funding in a general and then a fraction of that in the travel sector. Most of that investment is allocated to big companies at Series A and up. It is very difficult for a female founder within travel to get money pre-substantial revenue, where we could use this investment the most. It might be worth it to set up a hospitality fund for female entrepreneurs with young startups,” says Sally Bunnell, founder CEO, NaviSavi, a B2B platform dedicated to vertical, travel-only User Generated Content (UGC) short videos.
According to press statement, TravelAI, a company specialising in AI-driven travel solutions, AI Product Manager Brianna MacNeil emphasises the importance of a supportive, inclusive work environment.
“Creating a genuine, kind, fun and performance driven environment” where diversity thrives is important to attract entrepreneurial talent,” says Brianna MacNeil, AI Product Manager, TravelAI.
According to press statement, Laura Di Costanzo, Head of Product, stresses the importance of visibility and strong female role models.
“40 pc of the work force is female at Stay22, a travel affiliate marketing platform based in Montreal (Canada). All the members of the executive committee are male, though women make up 55 pc of the heads of departments, the second layer in its organisational chart. Attracting more female leaders in any industry starts with visibility, having strong role models share their experiences to inspire others” says Laura Di Costanzo, Head of Product, Stay22.
“Every interview or space that highlights the role of women in the travel tech sector is a step forward in building a more equitable future. In our industry, human connection is key and diversity in leadership is an asset that drives innovation, competitiveness, and growth, 60 pc of Civitatis’ staff are women and leadership team roles is split between men and women in the company, which also implements a Plan for Equal Opportunity for Women and Men. Íscar says that “we believe that talent has no gender, but opportunities must be available for everybody,” we believe that talent has no gender, but opportunities must be available for everybody,” says Veronica Íscar, chief B2B sales officer, Civitatis.
Additionally, as per a press statement, GoNexus Group, which specialises in tech-driven travel solutions, has 40 pc female employees and 41 pc women in management positions.
“True progress lies in driving meaningful change and building a legacy that uplifts future generations,” says Luisa Oyarzabal, VP, business strategy & operations transformation.
At Holiday Pirates Group, a travel search platform present in ten countries, 62 pc of employees are women, and the executive team is equally split between men and women. Vivien Schwarz-Elbelzai, Chief People Officer, attributes the company’s success in retaining female talent to flexibility.
“Every role in every department is adaptable, allowing us to support working mothers and encourage more women to step into leadership roles,” says Vivien Schwarz-Elbelzai, Chief People Officer, who attributes the company’s success in retaining female talent to flexibility.
Meanwhile, the press statement also says that increasing the number of female leaders in travel tech is not just about gender equality, it is also a business necessity, as women drive 70 pc of all travel-buying decisions, particularly in family travel planning.
“Particularly in the family setting, the key decision maker and person planning the whole trip is a woman, If you have no or few females in your top team in your company, how can you claim to understand that market?” says Ayşe Yaşar, VP Sales B2B, Bedsopia.
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