Women in Travel CIC, the social enterprise dedicated to empowering women though employability and entrepreneurship in the travel industry, celebrated the launch of ‘BAME Women in Travel’ with an inspirational and thought-provoking evening event.

Held at London’s Royal Society of Arts on 11th March 2019, the evening was well-attended by media, influencers and representatives from UK companies keen to champion diversity. The new BAME Women in Travel initiative will assist black, Asian and minority ethnic women in the travel and tourism industry to fulfil their economic and individual potential through customised training and mentoring services aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and employment.

As well as engaging with BAME women, Women in Travel will simultaneously reach out to and work with the most forward-thinking travel and tourism businesses and organisations who wish to engage with and build knowledge of increasingly influential BAME travel communities.

During the evening, a panel discussion took place and issues surrounding diversity and talent, employee engagement, nurturing innovation and competitiveness were discussed. Speakers on the panel included Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Women in Travel’s new Executive Director of the BAME division; Mansoureh Farahani, Founder of Travel With Mansoureh; Stephanie Takyi, a lifestyle journalist for Daily Mail and Metro UK; Dr. Sasha Ho Farris Nyirabu, GP and Global Health Consultant; Lerease Sweeney, Lifestyle Manager at Facebook; and Fiona Anderson, Director at travel and lifestyle PR agency GEC PR.

Speaking at the event, Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Executive Director of BAME Women in Travel and Co-Founder of Hey! Dip Your Toes In, said: “Providing a space and platform for women of colour to grow their networks, tap into resources, and share their unique skillsets only amplifies their voices in the larger marketplace. This space is not exclusive, rather, it is inclusive of all women seeking to expand their footprint within the travel and tourism industry, especially for those who’ve felt marginalised or overlooked.”

Alessandra Alonso, Founder of Women in Travel CIC said: “Women in Travel has listened to the voices of women from BAME communities and created a platform to share ideas, learn and get inspired. These women are passionate about travel and our call to action to the travel industry is get involved or risk alienating an increasingly important part of your stakeholders!”

Upcoming BAME Women in Travel events include:

  • Mentoring Session: In Conversation With Esra Alhamal (22nd April 2019, 6 – 8pm)
  • Business Webinar: Plan, Launch and Grow Your Travel Business With Tracy Durrant (24th April 2019, 7 – 8pm)
  • Panel Discussion and Networking Event (22nd May 2019, 6 – 8:30pm)
  • Travel Insider: Visionboard Workshop For Your Travel Business (18th June 2019, 6 – 9pm)
  • Secure the Bag! Write Your Plan Of Action & Launch Your Travel Business (16th July 2019, 6 – 9pm)
  • Panel Discussion and Networking Event (17th July 2019, 6 – 8:30pm)

To register interest in attending an upcoming BAME Women in Travel event or request further information, please email [email protected].

For further information on Women In Travel, visit www.womenintravelcic.com.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS

Image Captions:
Image 1: (from left to right) Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Women in Travel’s new Executive Director of the BAME division; Mansoureh Farahani, Founder of Travel With Mansoureh; Stephanie Takyi, a lifestyle journalist for Daily Mail and Metro UK; Dr. Sasha Ho Farris Nyirabu, a GP and Global Health Consultant; Lerease Sweeney, Lifestyle Manager at Facebook; Fiona Anderson, Director at GEC PR; and Alessandra Alonso, Founder of Women in Travel CIC. Image credit: C More Vision Photography.
Image 2: Eulanda Shead Osagiede, Women in Travel’s new Executive Director of the BAME division. Image credit: C More Vision Photography.
Image 3: BAME Women in Travel’s launch event was well-attended by media, influencers and representatives from UK companies keen to champion diversity. Image credit: C More Vision Photography.

About Women in Travel
Launched by Alessandra Alonso in 2014, Women in Travel (CIC) started life as a gender focused platform at World Travel Market in London. Growing successfully from then onwards, in 2017 it was incorporated as a social enterprise, meaning a commercial company that reinvests all profits into its mission. Women in Travel hosts events with partners at World Travel Market, in London, Dubai (Arabian Travel Market) and Cape Town (WTM Africa) and Sao Paulo WTM Latin America but also engages with other organisations such as Travel Tech Lab, Hotelympia and more. In the latter part of 2017 Women in Travel held a BAME focused women entrepreneurs’ event and more recently has proudly launched women returners services working with Crisis UK to get women back into travel, tourism and hospitality jobs. 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 further media information, images or interview opportunities please contact:
GEC PR | [email protected]