Featured image: Honouring women who make a difference in the travel industry / Photo by halfpoint

Recognize a woman in the travel industry by November 15, 2023

By JourneyWoman staff 

For the fourth year in a row, we’re recognizing a woman in the travel industry who has dedicated her professional life to empowering women in travel with the JourneyWoman Award for Lifetime Achievement. 2024 is a special year because it’s JourneyWoman’s 30th anniversary of inspiring women to travel solo.

Named in honour of JourneyWoman founder Evelyn Hannon, who passed away in 2019, the Award will be presented by JourneyWoman CEO Carolyn Ray at the 2024 Bessie Awards at the Women in Travel Summit, which runs from April 12-14, 2024 in Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah. This year WITS is a full month earlier, so we need your nominations by November 15, 2023. 

“The JourneyWoman Award celebrates Evelyn’s legacy and dedication to empowering other women through travel,” says Carolyn Ray, CEO, JourneyWoman. “Through it, we can acknowledge women over 50 who have broken barriers, challenged the status quo, and followed their hearts. Women you have told us – you can do it – and shown us through their own actions.”

Please submit your nominations using our form below.

JourneyWoman’s December 2022 study, “The Influence and Affluence of the Solo Female Traveler Over 50”, showed that 70% of women over 50 felt ignored and undervalued by the travel industry, despite representing trillions in spending power.  Women over 50 represent over $15 trillion in purchasing power in the US alone and are the fastest-growing demographic over the next 10 years, according to a recent study. Read more about the Woman over 50 traveller here.

On April 23, 2021, Alessandra Alonso became the inaugural recipient of the JourneyWoman Award, a partnership between JourneyWoman and Wanderful. Alessandra is the founder of Women in Travel CIC, a social enterprise that seeks to empower women using travel and tourism as a force for good. Fluent in five languages, Alessandra has an impressive professional background, including degrees from the London School of Economics, the École des Ponts Business School in Paris, and the University of Florence. She spent over 20 years in consulting, where she operated a business that focused on gender diversity long before it was mainstream.

Read more about this trailblazer and 2021 JourneyWoman Award for Lifetime Achievement winner here.

About the JourneyWoman Award

This will be the fourth annual JourneyWoman Award for Lifetime Achievement, which was established in 2021 in recognition of Evelyn Hannon, Founder of JourneyWoman, and her achievements in inspiring women to embrace solo travel. Evelyn started JourneyWoman in 1994 and revolutionized travel for women around the world, helping the industry understand that women had different needs and safety was a primary concern. 

As in previous years, women from the JourneyWoman community will be involved in choosing the next JourneyWoman Award for Lifetime Achievement recipient, and that starts with actively nominating candidates. Make your voice heard. Uplift a deserving travel professional who is committed to serving the travel community. Nominate someone today.

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