Brands and individuals honoured at first Women in Travel Forum awards
Ilaria Grasso MacolaContiki, Luxtripper and TTG Media were among the brands honoured for their commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in travel at the International Women in Travel and Tourism Forum (IWTTF) Awards on Wednesday (21 June).
The ceremony in London, hosted by social enterprise Women in Travel CIC, celebrated the travel and tourism businesses and industry individuals committed to driving progress in the DEI space.
These included established brands such as Contiki, which won the DEI Champion – Company award, as well as smaller companies such as London-based NGO Unseen Tours, which was honoured for the Best DEI in Talent and Recruitment Initiative.
Luxtripper’s Nena Chaletzos topped the Women Leader – Entrepreneur or Founder category, while Audley Travel’s Sonal Patel was headed up the Woman Leader within a Company category.
TTG Media editor and chief purpose officer Sophie Griffiths was highly commended in the DEI Champion – Individual category, while the wider business was among the finalists for the DEI Champion – Company award.
“The IWTTF Awards are all about shining a light on the great work that is taking place within the DEI space in the travel industry,” said Women in Travel CIC founder Alessandra Alonso.
“I was so excited and proud to come together in this fabulous space at Expedia to recognise and celebrate all of our deserving winners and finalists.”
Alonso’s comments were echoed by Ariane Gorin, president of Expedia for Business, who hosted the awards.
"We still have a long way to go but I am proud of our progress, and I want to recognise the efforts of our Women at Expedia Learning and Leading (WELL) team which is very active in supporting our female community and allies," she added.
Hosted by Expedia, the awards are a new addition to this year’s forum, which also includes a day of sessions covering topics spanning neurodiversity to how climate change is impacting women.
Taking place on Thursday (22 June) at Google’s London offices, the forum will feature addresses from industry leaders including Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said, Attraction World Group chief executive Olly Nicholls and WeTravel head of partnerships Shayna Zand.
All proceeds from the event will go towards Women in Travel CIC’s mission of supporting women, especially those from more marginalised communities, in achieving their potential through travel and tourism.
The full list of winners included:
- DEI Champion – Company
Winner: Contiki
Highly commended: Kalukanda House
- DEI Champion – Individual
Winner: Kanchana Gamage, The Aviatrix Project
Highly commended: Sophie Griffiths, TTG Media
- Allyship – Company
Winner: KOTO (Know One Teach One – Vietnam)
- Allyship – Individual
Winner: Stuart Greif, Forbes Travel Guide
Highly commended: Rachel Storey, Contiki
- Talent and Recruitment – Best DEI in Talent and Recruitment Initiative
Winner: Unseen Tours
Highly commended: Tourleb
- Talent and Recruitment – Individual Diverse Talent Recruiter
Winner: Chris King, Lightning Travel Recruitment
- Woman Leader within a Company
Winner: Sonal Patel, Audley Travel
- Woman Leader – Entrepreneur or Founder
Winner: Nena Chaletzos, Luxtripper
Highly commended: Jennie Berry, Wheelie Good Life
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