Beyond the Guidebook: Three New Women-Led Tours Launch in London, Edinburgh and Manchester

Trip.com Group and Women in Travel CIC launch three new bookable experiences exploring London’s culinary history, Gothic Edinburgh and Manchester’s musical roots.

London, 30th September 2026: Trip.com Group and Women in Travel CIC have launched three new women-led tours in London, Edinburgh and Manchester, offering travellers new ways to discover the cities through food, music, culture and lesser-known histories. Created by graduates of Women in Travel CIC’s Enterprising Tour Guiding Academy, the experiences are available to book now on Trip.com.

Taking travellers beyond the traditional sightseeing trail, each tour draws on the interests, expertise and perspective of the woman who created it. From exploring 2,000 years of London’s history through food, to uncovering the stories behind Gothic Edinburgh and discovering the communities that shaped Manchester’s celebrated music scene, the experiences offer a fresh perspective on three of the UK’s best-known city-break destinations.

London: 2,000 years of history, told through food

From Roman wine to Huguenot pastries, London’s food tells the story of the people, migration and cultural exchange that have shaped the capital over almost 2,000 years.

Led by local guide Martina, of Italian descent, Imperial Feast on a Plate takes travellers on a six-stop tasting journey through London’s culinary history, going beyond the traditional must-visit spots to uncover some of the people and places behind the city’s global food scene. Guests will travel through the centuries with tastings including Roman wine, medieval ale and pies, and pastries linked to the arrival of Huguenot refugees, while discovering lesser-known stories of female winemakers, refugee bakers and immigrant restaurant owners.

The experience also explores how foods and drinks now considered part of British culture arrived and evolved through centuries of movement and exchange – including how tea travelled from a Chinese luxury to become one of Britain’s most recognisable traditions. Rather than simply showing travellers where London eats, the tour reveals why the capital eats the way it does today.

Imperial Feast on a Plate is available to book from £119 per person via the link here.

Edinburgh: Step into the city’s Gothic past

Edinburgh’s atmospheric closes, kirkyards and historic streets provide the backdrop for Gothic Edinburgh, a tour exploring the folklore, literature and women’s stories woven into the city’s darker history.

Led by writer, artist and storyteller Pola, the experience takes travellers through some of Edinburgh’s most evocative locations, including St Giles’ Cathedral, Greyfriars Kirkyard, the Grassmarket and the Witches’ Well. Along the way, guests will uncover stories of women accused of witchcraft, explore Edinburgh’s supernatural folklore and discover how Victorian art and literature helped shape the Gothic imagination, with a stop for tea, scones and cakes along the way.

Gothic Edinburgh is available to book from £47 per person via the link here.

Manchester: Discover the communities behind the music

Manchester’s musical story stretches far beyond the famous bands that have made the city known around the world. Beyond the Bassline explores the people, migration and communities that have contributed to its distinctive sound and cultural identity.

Led by music enthusiast Saj, the tour takes travellers through the Northern Quarter, exploring how influences including jazz, Caribbean and African music became part of Manchester’s musical landscape. Stops include independent music institution Piccadilly Records and historic live music venue Band on the Wall, before the experience turns to another part of the city’s cultural story with a “rice and three” lunch at This & That Café and finishes at Afflecks, a longstanding hub for Manchester’s independent and alternative culture.

Beyond the Bassline – Manchester is available to book from £59 per person via the link here.

From local knowledge to bookable experiences

The three tours have been developed through Trip.com Group’s collaboration with social enterprise Women in Travel CIC and its Enterprising Tour Guiding Academy, which supports women, including those from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds, with the skills, training and opportunities to develop careers and businesses within tourism.

Through the latest stage of the collaboration, Academy graduates have been supported in taking their own tour concepts to market, turning their knowledge, interests and individual perspectives on their cities into bookable experiences for travellers.

Jane McFadzean, Senior Director of Global Sustainability at Trip.com Group, said: “Travellers are increasingly looking for experiences that help them get beneath the surface of a destination, and these tours offer three very different ways to do exactly that. From discovering London through the food and communities that have shaped it, to exploring Edinburgh’s Gothic history and the influences behind Manchester’s music scene, each experience brings a distinctive perspective to a familiar city.

“We’re delighted to make these tours available to travellers through Trip.com and, through our collaboration with Women in Travel CIC, to help bring the knowledge, passions and ideas of the women behind them to a wider audience.”

Alessandra Alonso, Founder and Managing Director at Women in Travel CIC, said: “What makes these tours special is that they have been shaped by the women behind them. Martina, Pola and Saj have each drawn on their own interests, knowledge and perspective to create an experience that tells a different story about their city.

“Seeing graduates of the Enterprising Tour Guiding Academy take their ideas from training through to bookable experiences is an important milestone, and we’re excited that travellers can now discover London, Edinburgh and Manchester through the experiences they have created.”

For more information on Imperial Feast on a Plate, Gothic Edinburgh and Beyond the Bassline – Manchester, and to book the experiences, visit Trip.com here.

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About Trip.com Group
Trip.com Group is a global travel service provider comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the world make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services and enables partners to connect their offerings with users through the aggregation of travel-related content and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of apps, websites and 24/7 customer service centres. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group is on the mission “to pursue the perfect trip for a better world”. Find out more about Trip.com Group here: group.trip.com. Follow us on: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

About Women in Travel CIC
Women in Travel CIC fosters inclusion in industry by creating equitable opportunities for all women across travel and tourism. Through powerful partnerships we connect talent, industry and investment, supporting entrepreneurship, developing careers and creating measurable, socio-economic impact.

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