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 Virtual Gathering hosted by WeTravel

Women+ in Travel: Learning from Women+ on the Ground

Tuesday, March 26th ● 1h
9 am PT ● 12 pm ET ● 4 pm GMT

Join WeTravel as we celebrate Women’s History Month with our third annual Women+ in Travel event, hearing from four inspiring women+ who are positively impacting travelers, local communities, and the travel industry through their meaningful work on the ground.

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About

We know that when women are empowered to work and run their businesses, economies grow - and more of that money is poured back into their local communities. That’s why this year, in celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to shine a light on some of the incredible women+ in travel who are working tirelessly on the ground, putting their heart and soul into their businesses - and their local communities. 

Echoing the United Nations’ International Women’s Day theme of accelerating gender equality through economic empowerment, we believe there’s a lot to learn from women+ in travel who are doing what they love, all the while benefiting travelers, local communities and the tourism industry. 

For our annual Women+ in Travel event, we’ll be gathering virtually to hear from four inspiring women+ who will share their unique stories of working on the ground as women+ in travel. From suppliers running their own businesses to tour guides working with local partners, each of our speakers has a unique experience to share that we, as an industry, can all learn from. 

Through breakout rooms, each led by one of our speakers, you’ll have the opportunity to explore: 

  • Leaning into identity through social entrepreneurship
  • Offering transformational experiences through Community-Based Tourism
  • Advancing ecotourism through gastronomy and wellness
  • Cultural Fusion: Integrating diversity into creativity
  • Understanding the importance of sustainable accommodation

As the virtual gathering will take place across various breakout rooms, we won’t be recording the session. Taking part live is the only way to learn from the speakers! 

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*Please note that we use the term “women+” to refer to any individual who identifies as a woman or with femininity, including non-binary individuals.

Meet the Hosts

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Kaitlin Calogera  (she/her)
President of A Tour of Her Own

Kaitlin Calogera is a licensed tour guide, author, and entrepreneur who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. After recognizing a lack of women’s representation in public spaces, she founded the first tourism company in Washington, DC to focus exclusively on women's history. A Tour Of Her Own (TOHO) was established in 2018 to offer historical tours and special events that reframe the narrative by elevating women’s stories. Calogera became a professional tour guide because she believes in education beyond the classroom and that tourism has the power to ignite social change. Her book "111 Places in Women's History That You Must Not Miss" is a travel guidebook that encourages readers to explore sites and stories about women, many who are overlooked in traditional textbooks.

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Vaishali Patel  (she/her)
Tour Guide, Marketer, Coach and Author

Meet Vaishali, a tour guide, author, coach, trainer and marketer driven to empower transformation, understanding and unity. She is the creator of the Immersive India Tour, which is a unique tour of Indian Culture in London and was recently featured in The Guardian. She is also the author of the Amazon best-seller, Solo Explorers, which empowers women to travel solo through the inspiring stories of transformational travel.  Vaishali was invited to speak at TEDx on the power of creative expression for self-awareness and healing. She has nearly two decades of corporate marketing and communication leadership experience.

   

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Poonam Rawat-Hahne (she/her)
Founder & CEO of Fernweh Fair Travel 

Poonam initiated Fernweh Fair Travel – Uplifting Communities, an impact-driven project after becoming aware of the plight of young widows who are unable to marry and victims of domestic violence in the Indian Himalayas. Today her project has been recognized and awarded internationally. Poonam is a consultant for the CBT, adventure, responsible & regenerative tourism designing, development, and execution while positively impacting the communities and environment. She has a strong passion for adventure, people, nature, spirituality, culture, and permaculture. She is on the committee of the board of directors in various prestigious organizations and is a volunteer firefighter in Germany. She is a certified permaculturist, natural builder, Transformational Travel designer and an ATTA ambassador. She believes in the power of travel and travel being the force for good.

 

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Cindy Reátegui García
Manager at La Patarashca

Cindy Reátegui García is an entrepreneur and conservationist with more than 15 years of experience in tourism, gastronomy and conservation. Her work in sustainable  food production and with local women is nationally and internationally recognized. She is the Owner and Business Manager of GRUPO LA PATARASHCA as well as the Founder and Director of the Ponayacu Association, and the Founder and CEO of Amazon Rainforest Conservancy Northern Peru.

  |   La Patarashca Tour  |   La Patarashca Restaurante  |   Suchiche Café & Bar

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Ayse Zeynep Sezerel (she/her)
Managing Owner of No11 Hotel Istanbul

Ayshe is a local Istanbulite who studied political science in the University of Florence. Originally she started her career in exhibitions and continued as a real estate agent for expats. Working to relocate expats, she started No11 Hotel as an extended stay building in 2013 and turned it into a proper hotel in 2016. Since 2019, she has been working in sustainability. Her passion and enthusiasm to save the planet turned No11 Hotel into the first small city hotel in Istanbul with an international environmental award in 2020. And now it is still the only hotel with two sustainability certifications.

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