Women in Travel CIC – the social enterprise dedicated to empowering women by leveraging a thriving travel and tourism industry – today announces its upcoming events for the remainder of 2017 and confirms its line-up of inspirational speakers and mentors.
The upcoming series of events are designed to help current and aspiring female entrepreneurs with practical tips, insight and advice on setting up their own companies, securing funding and the challenges they might face as business-owners along the way. All sessions will be led by Alessandra Alonso, who launched Women in Travel in January 2017 to help more women fulfil their economic and individual potential through education, engagement and entrepreneurship.
Traveltech Lab Mentoring
08:45-11:00, Wednesday 13th September 2017 at The Traveltech Lab, 2 More London Riverside, SE1 2JP
At this dynamic and intimate mentoring event, a select group of women will have the opportunity to put questions and challenges to experienced female travel entrepreneurs. There will be a panel discussion (09:00-09:30), Q&A (09:30-09:45), intimate group mentoring sessions (09:45-10:45) and the opportunity for general networking (until 11:00).
The event’s mentors are:
- Eulanda Shead Osagiede – Co-Founder of Hey! Dip Your Toes In (HDYTI); a platform which promotes creative digital content with a focus on global travel and food culture. Eulanda’s authoritative voice on global travel and influencer marketing has led her to be sought out as a guest speaker at events around the world.
- Debbie Marshall – Founder of Silver Travel Adviser; an award-winning unique travel review, information and advice website for mature travellers aged 50+ with a growing membership base of over 70,000. Debbie has a 30-year career in the travel industry and is the go-to industry spokesperson for the silver travel sector.
- Christina Lawford – Managing Director, Founder and Owner of DiamondAir International Ltd. and Sky Diamond Ltd. Having developed the company into a global, multi-million-dollar business, Christina has immense experience in the sector – not to mention the innovation and passion required to develop this type of unsurpassed business model.
To register for a place, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-travel-mentoring-event-tickets-36952341448?aff=
Women in Travel celebrates Black History Month
18:00-20:00, Thursday 26th October 2017 at the Georgian House Hotel, 35 – 39 St George’s Drive, London SW1V 4DG
To celebrate Black History Month, Women in Travel is hosting the UK’s first event specifically focused on supporting female entrepreneurs of BAME origin/background. The event, which will take place at the Georgian House Hotel, London, will address the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs from BAME communities as well as showcasing the contribution that current female entrepreneurs have made to society.
The event will begin with a welcome from Serena von der Heyde, owner of the Georgian House Hotel, followed by a debate and Q&A session with the following distinguished panellists:
- Eulanda Shead Osagiede – Co-Founder of Hey! Dip Your Toes In (HDYTI); a platform which promotes creative digital content with a focus on global travel and food culture. Eulanda’s authoritative voice on global travel and influencer marketing has led her to be sought out as a guest speaker at events around the world.
- Vivienna Dovi – Founder of Melanin Travel; a community-led website inspiring travellers from the African diaspora to share their experiences of travelling the world. Vivienne has interesting insights into intersectional feminism and race as well as how that has affected her entrepreneurial journey.
- Laura Bartlett – Editor and Publisher at House of Coco; a popular quarterly print magazine, stocked by the likes of Selfridges and Harrods, which pushes the limits in the name of adventure. Laura started her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 23 – when she launched her first company with zero investment – and has since gone on to achieve worldwide recognition.
- Dipali Kastia – Co-Founder of Digital Dialog; devoted to helping tourism and travel brands get the most from their digital spend through clever and innovative marketing campaigns. She has crafted media campaigns that have inspired travelers to take road trips in Ireland, go skiing in Austria, consider Geneva for an exciting great city break, or discover wine regions in France, and much more.
To register for a place, please contact Alessandra at [email protected].
World Travel Market (WTM London) 2017
14.30-18.00, Tuesday 7 November 2017 at WTM London, ExCel Exhibition Centre
Women in Travel will also be returning to World Travel Market (WTM London) 2017. The programme this year is focused on travel entrepreneurship and will feature a panel debate, exclusive mentoring session and networking.
The debate, which takes place in Platinum Suite 4 at 14.30-15.30 on Tuesday 7th November 2017, will discuss ‘Lessons in start-up funding for travel and tourism entrepreneurs’.
Access to funding for entrepreneurs in travel and tourism is often perceived as a minefield, particularly for female entrepreneurs who are known to receive considerably less funding than their male counterparts. During the panel session, industry experts will discuss topics such as what investors can offer to your travel and tourism start up (whether male or female owned), how various fundraising methods differ, what each can do for you and what they expect in return as well as how entrepreneurs can prepare their company and team for fundraising.
Confirmed speakers so far include:
- Chris Rea – Senior Campaign Associates, Seeders: who will be able to shed light on how to go about raising seed and angel investment, as well as success stories and possible pitfalls.
- Sarah Towle – Co-Founder & Creative Director, Time Travelers Tours & Tales: a tech-driven entrepreneur who can provide practical knowledge and tips from her personal experience of accessing funding for her own educational media company.
- Laura Stembridge – Founder & CEO, Jambo Tribe: who can also offer insights from a first-person perspective, having set up an award winning, mobile-first, location based enterprise platform connecting business professionals both within and outside of organisations.
The panel debate will be followed by group mentoring sessions from 15.30-16.30 where attendees can meet speakers and additional established industry figures. Every table will be set up with two mentors and six mentees. Mentors will be available to discuss relevant topics around entrepreneurship, fundraising and more. These mentoring sessions are incredibly popular and booking will open in late September. We recommend checking online in advance to secure your place: http://london.wtm.com/en/Sessions/47488/Entrepreneurship-in-Action-Group-Mentoring-Sessions-for-Aspiring-Entrepreneurs
After the mentoring, attendees will have the opportunity to network and continue exchanging ideas and tips with peers and leading industry figures in an informal setting until 18.00. The event is open to all WTM London attendees, whether exhibitors or visitors, and both women and men are warmly invited to attend. Please note, full list of speakers and mentors will be confirmed closer to the event.
Alessandra Alonso, Founder of the Women in Travel Meetup said “Women in Travel is continuing to grow year on year and I’m delighted to confirm three new events in the coming months. I’m hugely grateful to the renowned industry figures who are lending their time to help the travel entrepreneurs of the future – this type of mentoring and support is crucial for the success of aspiring start-up owners, male or female.’
As a social enterprise, Women in Travel is a limited company that reinvests its profit in a big social aim: to provide communities in key travel and tourism destinations (such as the UK, Middle East, Africa and Latin America) with a sustainable livelihood by enabling women to become economically independent through entrepreneurship and a thriving career in this industry.
For more information, please visit http://womenintravelcic.com/ or join Women in Travel’s LinkedIn group or watch this video with Alessandra Alonso and Natalia Cohen discussing how women can be bold for change.
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About Women in Travel
Women in Travel CIC is a social enterprise that aims to leverage a thriving global travel and tourism industry and its suppliers to provide women with the opportunity to fulfil their economic and individual potential through education, engagement and entrepreneurship.
The Women in Travel Meetup aims to become the premier, international travel event platform encouraging women in the travel industry to come together and support each other. The event will have a particular focus on enabling potential entrepreneurs to tap into a support network they would not otherwise have access to when trying to set up their own enterprise.
Women in Travel’s vision is to become a recognised catalyst for female empowerment in the international travel and tourism sector; provide communities in key regions with a sustainable livelihood by enabling women to become economically independent through entrepreneurship and a thriving career in the travel and tourism industry; and engage with corporate and public sector partners to support women internationally with mentoring, networking and enterprising.
The Women in Travel Meetup aims to engage with, reach out to and create a community of thousands of female professionals, current and future entrepreneurs and suppliers working in and around the travel industry who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access this type of support. Following the success of its launch, the Women in Travel Meetup programme grew from two sessions (on entrepreneurship and human rights) in 2014 to a half-day event in 2015 with more than 100 attendees.
Alessandra Alonso, Founder of the Women in Travel Meetup, is also Chief Mentor and Strategic Consultant at Everyday Mentor, an advisory business aimed at supporting individuals – especially women – and organisations in achieving their potential through customised, outcome driven interventions. As an independent consultant, coach-mentor and trainer, Alessandra Alonso has long-standing expertise and research in the field of women in work in the travel and tourism industry.
For more information or to book a mentoring session, please visit http://www.wtmlondon.com/events/Women-in-Travel/.
About Traveltech Lab
The Traveltech Lab is the UK’s original travel innovation hub housing a growing community of early stage technology startups poised to disrupt the sector. The Lab aims to foster innovation, collaboration, and creativity while bringing together technology startups with major corporates within the industry. We provide a stunning shared workspace overlooking the River Thames and Tower Bridge, a bespoke business and professional support programme, a curated event series and brokered relationships with over 400 world leading travel and tourism businesses.
The Lab is a partnership between London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional company for London; and The Trampery, specialists in innovative spaces to drive creativity and entrepreneurship.
