Women’s engagement in global travel and tourism is crucial to catapulting growth and achieving a thriving and resilient sector.

So said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, who emphasised the importance of promoting women's involvement in the sector and overcoming challenges for success in the business world.

She was speaking at the ‘Women Deliver’ Global Conference in Kigali, Rwanda last week.  The event served as a platform to address the challenges faced by women in the travel and tourism sector and to explore strategies to overcome them, aiming to inspire change and promote equal opportunities for women in the sector.

During her address, Simpson said: “It is proven that companies that have 50% women in their leadership make more money. This makes even more sense in travel and tourism where women make the buying decisions on where to go on holiday.

‘It also makes good sense to employ women in senior roles; why would you exclude access to 50% of global talent?”

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, agreed, noting that the Rwandan government had an excellent track record of female empowerment with a majority of women MPs in the Parliament.

He said: “Putting women centre stage in travel and tourism will ensure a better future for the sector and the global economy. Currently, more than half of the sector is made up of women.

“By addressing the barriers and inequalities they face, we can unlock immense potential and drive sustainable growth.”

According to the WTTC, women constitute approximately 54% of the global workforce and, while the travel and tourism industry provides accessible opportunities for women, women also face disparities such as lower pay and job security. 

These disparities were reflected in the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, where the majority of the 62 million jobs lost in the travel and tourism sector were women's jobs.

Simpson said the WTTC urged both the public and private sectors to play their part in promoting women’s participation in the sector. Governments should adopt policies that promote women in senior management, such as mandatory quotas for publicly listed companies and state-owned enterprises, whereas the private sector should offer targeted professional development programmes for women and create networking and mentoring opportunities. 

“WTTC remains committed to advocating for gender equality, working closely with its members, governments, and industry partners to foster an environment where women have equal opportunities to excel, lead, and shape the future of the travel and tourism sector,” said Simpson.