Women in the Travel Industry
Happy International Women’s Day (March 8th)! There are many women in the travel industry making huge, positive impacts changing the way we travel, the way we think about travel and more. On this special day, I wanted to acknowledge just a few of these amazing women and share a bit about how they are making BIG differences in this world.
Leticia + Savannah with 109 World
Leticia 
Savannah
What role did travel play for you in your younger days?
Leticia:
My parents always taught us to appreciate diversity, different cultures, traditions and beliefs. They would always say when I was little that there were so many invaluable lessons they couldn’t teach us. Only going out and witnessing this diversity in the world would we learn the most important lessons in life. So travel always played this role of being essential to our growth and development as humans. Because travel fosters compassion, awareness, understanding of one another, and allows us to gain perspective and clarity of our sense of place in the world.
Savannah:
Growing up, travel was always a source of adventure and learning for me. I am lucky to have gone on service trips throughout my childhood that sparked my passion for supporting grassroots organizations as well as my curiosity for people’s stories. I found that I learned the most valuable and memorable lessons while I was traveling. I am really grateful I had these opportunities when I was younger to see how important getting outside of your comfort zone is for self-growth.
What is 109 World and how did it come about?
109 World is a platform dedicated to help individuals fulfill the promise of their potential through self-love and love for the world. What does this mean? 109 designs and hosts experiences for individuals to participate and go through a programming rich in mindfulness and wellbeing, but also in giving back to the world. The goal is for each individual that takes part on a 109 experience to learn how reconnecting with their truly authentic selves through self-love is a powerful tool to transform their lives and the world for better. Once you feel good with yourself, it means you are best positioned to do good in the world, and our 109 experiences offer the space to do all of that.
The concept for 109 World came from our discomfort over how, despite today’s advancements and technology, a majority of the population still lives in either one side of the pendulum: either just taking care of themselves and practicing self love and not being of service to the world at all, or just giving back and not prioritizing their own health & wellbeing. Very few of us realize that a combination of both is important if we want to make the world a better place. Moreover, very few of us identify as change-makers of the world and our own lives, so our team at 109 realized this lack of empowerment was not only affecting people’s happiness & wellbeing in general, but also greatly hindering amazing initiatives from getting the necessary support they need in order to scale their impact. It’s an interesting contrast. The world today is more connected than ever, information and content is cost-free and knows no borders, and yet we (individuals, corporations and other organizations) remain unaware as to the influence and impact we can have. It is this paradox that drove us to give people the space and inspiration they need to start changing their lives and the world for better.
What is the mission of 109 World?
Our Mission is to help individuals fulfill the promise of their potential through mindfulness and giving back.
What are your roles with 109 World?
Leticia:
I am the Co-founder and Executive Director of 109 World. I make sure our strategic and operational objectives are aligned with our goals of helping individuals fulfill the promise of their potential through mindfulness and actionable impact.
Savannah:
I am the Associate Director with 109 World. My role consists of managing all elements of operation and logistics for each 109 experience, as well as relationships with the 109 community, especially as it pertains to past, current, and potential participants on a 109 trip.
In what ways can travelers get involved?
We would love to have them joining one or many of our experiences. Our trips are all so different from one another – we go to different countries every time, do different volunteer type of work and support different causes, have different mindfulness classes with different teachers and speakers for each trip. You will never get the same experience, even if you join every single 109 journey!
We have all the information about our upcoming trips on our website: www.109world.com/trips/ and we are very active on social media as well, especially instagram – where we not only share about our upcoming trips, but also about our local projects, partners, future trips, pop-up events we host and much more. We very often launch very cool campaigns promoting travel and offering the opportunity for travelers to join our trips for very little, like $2 dollars! We are planning on launching the Travel for $2 campaign again this year, so stay tuned @109world!
What has been your favorite travel experience?
Leticia:
This is a hard question. But I think my favorite travel experiences were both with 109 when we went to Greece in 2017 and Mexico last year.
Mexico because we stayed at the most beautiful eco-hotel I have ever been. The place is called Playa Viva, a sustainable boutique hotel (with tree houses!) located on the western coast of Mexico nestled between the sparkling waters of the Pacific Ocean and the majestic Sierra Madre Mountains. This paradise is situated on a mile of pristine and private beach, with nearly 200 acres including an estuary, an Aztec archeological site, a turtle sanctuary, and a coastal forest and mangrove ecosystem which supports an array of stunning wildlife. If you haven’t heard about them, go check their instagram account @playaviva! Besides it being a very special and gorgeous place, to work with their turtle sanctuary was an unique experience for me, too. To wake up everyday releasing baby turtles and during the day building a new turtle sanctuary was more inspiring than I expected to be. To witness baby turtles being born with all the odds stacked against them, from crawling out of a hole for several days, to making their way towards the ocean with the tide constantly bringing them backwards – and then seeing them finally reach the water taught me so much about life, and that no matter what life throws at you to remember to just keep moving forward. We will get where we were meant to be eventually.
Greece was also my favorite because it was such a nourishing and transformative experience. The Greek culture is so warm, the way they prioritize time with family and friends is so beautiful to see and the food is absolutely delicious. The 109 Greece trip was particularly transformative for me because of the work we did there with building a school in a refugee camp. This cause really touched my heart in a different way. Not that the refugee crisis is worse than any other crisis, but personally it was hard for me to think we could treat people like that or even let it become what it became: more than 65 million people living as refugees worldwide, forcibly displaced. Doctors, engineers, lawyers, mothers, sons and daughters. People like those you grew up with, people like those you love, people like you and me that now live in refugee camps with a life without digital resources and services, a life without income, without literacy skills and opportunities, and without the satisfaction that comes from feeling welcomed by society. That really impacted me. I felt that I left Greece, but my heart and mind stayed with them, with the reflections that this refugee crisis is everybody’s problem and each one of us has a personal responsibility to help. Because this is as much about the rescue of humanity and our values as it is about the rescue of refugees and their lives.
Savannah:
I would have to say our last 109 retreat to Mexico is definitely top of my list. The eco-hotel we stayed at, Playa Viva, is a place unlike any other with being both a breathtaking location (treehouses, majestic sunsets, & baby turtle releases!), but also one that is sustainable and deeply committed to the local community. I loved this trip because from the second we arrived I felt like I was home even though I had never been there, as there is a true sense of community at Playa Viva, which is something I believe is vital to our success and happiness as humans. Plus, being able to learn more about ocean and marine life conservation while working on the turtle sanctuary was profoundly moving. Nothing substitutes experience, and it was an honor to have this chance to not only learn about the immense threats the turtles face just to survive, but also to get my hands dirty and learn what it takes to protect them. The day we left was truly heartbreaking for me as I did not want to leave our new friends or this special place, and it is now somewhere I consider a second home – I cannot wait to be back!
What is one destination you would recommend to everyone?
Leticia:
Anywhere in Greece. The landscapes with all the olive trees are magical, the paradisiac beaches that feels like you are in a movie, the delicious food they are so proud of and their culture and history – it’s birth of civilization and one of the best places on Earth in my opinion!
Savannah:
One place I would recommend everyone go is Barcelona! This city holds such a special place in my heart and is the perfect place to go with friends, your partner, or even solo. There is so much history, delicious tapas (patatas bravas are my favorite food on the whole planet), and you can feel how alive the city is everywhere you go. It will always be one of my favorite places and I cannot wait to be back there one day!
What is one piece of advice you would give a female looking to start her own business in the travel industry?
Leticia:
There is a quote that I love from Alan Cohen that describes it well: “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” If you always wanted to start something, don’t wait longer to make it happen. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are!
Savannah:
Surround yourself with people you trust and value, and then go from there. Obstacles feel much less daunting when you know you have a team you are fully confident in and can rely on. You can’t predict how amazing things will go, or how hard they will be – but with the right people you will be equipped for it all.
Where can we find 109 World online?
Instagram: @109world
Facebook: @109world
Twitter: @109world_
Kristi + Brittany with Travel Savvi
What role did travel play in your lives growing up?
Kristi: 
Growing up, my family always took vacations exploring the sites and history of the United States. In high school I took many solo trips to visit extended family and spent a summer on a mission trip to Egypt. After that, I realized how much more of the world there is to see, and I was hooked. I knew that somehow travel had to be a part of what I did for a career.
Brittany:
Travel came into my life for the first time when I was 16 years old when I walked into a local travel agency and applied for a job working as a receptionist. After being hired, I worked everyday after school for four hours and they were the BEST four hours of my day. I vividly remember spending hours organizing and ordering brochures and getting lost in the images of amazing destinations. This job would change my future as I never waived from my passion in life and future career from this point on.
How did you meet one another and decide to start a travel agency together?
Kristi and I met working for the same company as independent contractors. We met at our very first annual conference and immediately hit it off and would spend many years traveling together, leaning on each other and supporting one another. After many years of knowing each other, we were both looking to grow in a different aspect of what we were currently doing and decided to join forces.
Tell us a little bit more about Travel Savvi
We primarily cater to vacation travelers but specialize in destination weddings, honeymoons, romantic getaways and family vacations. Our biggest strength is working with our clients to ensure we are qualifying them for their perfect vacation based on their travel needs, wants and preferred budget.
What has been your favorite travel experience?
Kristi:
This is a tough one because I love each trip. Probably the times I get to travel with my family. A couple specific times were when my kids were little and seeing how magical Disney was to them, and the first time I took them to Mexico for them to experience a place I frequented and loved so much are at the top of the list.
Brittany:
I don’t have a favorite as every single trip I take is an amazing new experience. Traveling with my family and friends brings great joy and fantastic memories!
What is one destination you would recommend to everyone?
Kristi:
I don’t think there is a one size fits all destination. Part of what we do is working with someone to find which destination is right for them. I think an all-inclusive vacation is a type of trip everyone should try. For the person that may be a little intimidated to go somewhere, it’s the perfect choice for ease of flights, transfer and stay all included! Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican are perfect destinations for an all-inclusive vacation.
Brittany:
Mexico and Hawaii – two of my favorite destinations to spend the days relaxing and exploring.
What is one piece of advice you would give a female looking to start her own business in the travel industry?
Kristi:
Asking yourself a few questions: Do I like to help others? Am I willing to put myself out there to let people know what I do? Am I willing to learn and continue to learn to stay on top of the latest travel trends? Passion for travel is a huge, but wanting to help others discover their own love of travel is key. I know that this is the right fit for me when I get just as excited for my clients vacation as I am for my own trip.
Brittany:
This industry is tough and can be a lot more stressful than one would think. The magic ingredient is not “loving to travel” but “loving to BOOK travel”. Having the opportunity to travel is a huge advantage but isn’t going to make you amazing at your job. Loving people, being able to problem solve and enjoying the process of research and booking travel are all crucial to succeed in this business.
Where can we find Travel Savvi online?
Instagram: @TravelSavvi
Facebook: @TravelSavvi1
Twitter: @Travel_Savvi
Beth with Wanderful
What role did travel play for you in your younger days?
My mom laughs about this all the time. Apparently when I was a child I absolutely hated to travel. I hated leaving places that I loved and would cry for hours when going back home. I think about that a lot now and what I realize is that I’m a lover of places. It’s not that I don’t like being home – in fact, when I’m home I am a big-time nester and I’m always decorating and making the house cozy. It’s just that I love to be in the place that I am at the time that I’m there and I really try to relish that.
I was lucky enough to grow up traveling with my parents and my family to places like Disney World and Cape Cod and even on one amazing European vacation, but I honestly don’t remember too much from it. The first real travel experience that impacted me was when I studied abroad in Portugal in college. It really profoundly changed me. My family is Portuguese so it was as much studying abroad as it was rediscovering my roots and meeting so much of my family that I never really knew and learning their language. It opened up a part of me that I didn’t know existed and I think that part of me just grew from there.
What is Wanderful and how did it come about?
In 2009 I was traveling in a country called Sao Tome and Principe off the west coast of Africa. I was a young woman living a pretty hyper local experience in a place that was quite different from where I’d grown up and it really affected me to be in that place. I started thinking about a woman’s experience abroad, which was so much more than what society tells us it is – beauty magazines and super fashionable travel and all. I really wanted to explore what it meant to be a woman in the world until I started writing about it. That was the seed that eventually became Wanderful.
What is the mission of Wanderful?
Wanderful is an international community of over 40,000 women travelers. Our mission is to help empower women to travel using a live network of others who have been there. We do this through events in 46 cities around the world, global community gatherings like the Women in Travel Summit and Wanderfest, and the first-ever identity verified Woman to Woman Home Sharing Network.
Where is Wanderful located, and in what ways can female travelers get involved?
I think the really neat thing about Wanderful is that we really are everywhere. We have a very active Facebook group called Wanderful Women Who Travel which includes over 9,000 women from around the world that share travel tips with each other. But then we also have Chapters that meet for coffee gatherings, brunches, and outings. But our home sharing network is going to allow women to actually physically host each other in their homes and meet up with each other whether or not there is actually a chapter there, which I’m really excited about. It means that we can now create a place where you can stop in any airport around the world and there can be somebody there from the Wanderful Community who can guide you.
Find a local Chapter near you here.
Where do you see Wanderful going in the next 5- 10 years?
It’s really exciting for me that more and more women are traveling the world alone these days. Even 10 years ago, it was so much less common and now it’s becoming a lot more of a regular occurrence. I think we’re going to continue to see that movement in the next 5 to 10 years, and what I hope that means is that we are going to see a change in travel with it. More women and travel leadership and more solutions for women when they travel that become part of mainstream culture. I hope the Wanderful can be not only a part of these solutions but also a leader in some of them.
What has been your favorite travel experience?
I think Istanbul is still one of my favorite cities. It was when I was there that I heard the Muslim call to prayer for the first time, and I found it absolutely beautiful. I think that’s what’s really special about travel – immersing yourself in someone’s daily life which is so normal for them and so different for you and really taking a moment to appreciate how unique we all are.
What is one destination you would recommend to everyone?
Being Portuguese American, of course Portugal is one of my top recommendations for people. Of course, it’s not quite the hidden gem that used to be – a lot of Americans are really discovering how cool is a country it is and how inexpensive a flight from the East Coast is, so it’s less of a surprise! But if you stop about halfway through the Atlantic and end in the Azores, a Portuguese Archipelago, you might still find some surprise there. It’s such an amazing place. You can visit a pineapple farm, cook your dinner inside a volcano, go wine tasting, and even see a bunch of old Portuguese guys wearing Red Sox hats all in the same day.
What is one piece of advice you would give a female looking to start her own business in the travel industry?
I think travel is honestly a really challenging industry. Many entrepreneurs will tell you that the business you’re creating is much more likely to succeed if it solves a pain point – if its a “medicine” – more than if it just improves something that is working okay – a “vitamin”. I think in the travel space you find a lot more vitamins than you do medicine and so it’s really important to think critically about what the problem is that you’re solving for, and if it’s solving for a real need.
Where can we find you online?
Instagram: @sheswanderful
Facebook: @sheswanderful
Twitter: @sheswanderful
Pinterest: @sheswanderful
Caitlin with Waypoint Goods
What role did travel play in your life growing up?
I grew up in a rural part of South Denver, and we were constantly outside and adventuring. My family raced motorcycles, so every weekend we were off on a family van trip to some remote parts of the Western US. This fostered my love of nomadic travel and our current #vanlife adventures! I didn’t do a ton of international travel as a child, so my study abroad in college to Florence, Italy was when I was entirely consumed with absorbing and immersing myself in new cultures. I have had an incurable wanderlust ever since then and have built my life and my business around travel!
What were you doing before Waypoint Goods and how did Waypoint Goods come about?
I spent the majority of my life 100% convinced that I wanted to be an Architect. I was in the architecture studio while all my friends were at the bar for the 6 years it takes to get a Masters of Architecture. I promptly took all 7 of my exams, did my internship hours and got licensed. Whew! Made it! Except once I finally climbed this crazy mountain to the top, it really wasn’t what I had expected. I loved the creativity and problem-solving aspects, but the day to day life didn’t bring me any joy, so I knew I desperately needed to find an alternative lifestyle to the standard 8-5. I love to be outside, traveling, seeing new places and trying new things. Sitting at a desk all day and living for two weeks a year of vacation would never fulfill my soul. I began looking into other industries and other opportunities that would give me the freedom I craved. I knew I wanted to create a company based on travel that I would be able to run while traveling myself. E-commerce was the way to go. An incredible mentor helped show me the ropes and walk me through the early stages, including getting going on Amazon. It was a crazy journey, but I am so glad to have refocused on what lifestyle I wanted and create a business around that!
Tell me a little bit more about Waypoint Goods
Waypoint Goods gives women the confidence and inspiration to explore the world, both at home and abroad, with the perfect travel accessory to make it happen! The Travel Scarf with a hidden zipper pocket allows you to ditch the purse and stop worrying about pickpockets while safely hiding your essentials, like your wallet, passport, keys, and even your phone. Our bold BASICS series will keep you stylish and fashionable wherever you go! Our travel themed CITY series prints will add some destinations to your bucket list while our ART series prints feature some unique patterns by talented female artists. The STADIUM series lets your sport your team colors and the PARKS series gets you inspired by the natural beauty all around us. At Waypoint Goods, we want YOU to be YOU and live the life you have always dreamed of. We want you to feel empowered to try new things, go new places and make new friends! We are just here to make life a little easier for you (and hold your stuff)!
What does the next year look like for Waypoint Goods?
The next year is super crazy for us! Last year was explosive and this year, we are making plans and growing more sustainably. I hired a social media & marketing team to help me spread the word and a business strategist to help me grow, expand and make the best decisions I can. I am going to be spending a lot of time writing and storytelling, especially about the origin, inspiration, and creation of the CITY series patterns. There are some fun things coming up! We will be launching our new Lightweight collection in June! This includes a few new CITY series prints and some complementary solid colors too. We are doing a serious relaunch of our STADIUM series and going to focus on colleges and college sports teams. Stay tuned for the cooler weather for a Heavyweight wool collection.
Where do you see Waypoint Goods going in the next 5-10 years?
There are some really exceptional things I have planned for us in the next few years. We will be mixing in more patterns from incredible female artists and creatives. My favorite is that we are going to continue to work with incredible groups supporting women, like the Marshall Direct Fund, who we donate 100% of the proceeds of the Summiya scarf to help fund girls education in Pakistan. I am also developing a non-profit branch that will make these types of projects more accessible. We are working on way to be able to fund a travel scholarship for a featured artist who will produce a textile pattern that will be turned into a scarf pattern! I absolutely cannot wait!
What has been your favorite travel experience?
My favorite travel experience was one I planned for the day I finished my hardest semester in Grad School. I did my final studio review and then my then boyfriend (now husband) dropped me off at the airport. I woke up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for a 3-week solo trip. I had a flight out of Hanoi but no other plans. I spent the next few weeks exploring a totally foreign culture and learning that I have all of the inner strength, resourcefulness, and confidence that I need to do anything in the world. I made friends, had spontaneous motorcycle adventures, ate bizarre foods (squid jerkey!), got lost, missed busses, climbed mountains, rode in unusual vehicles, and learned that being humble, kind and polite goes a long way. Years later, this trip still serves as a pivotal moment in my life.
What is one destination you would recommend to everyone?
Cuba! It is so close but so strangely unique. The people are exceptional, the food is to die for and the music will keep you dancing all night. It’s one of the few places I will keep going back to.
What is one piece of advice you would give a female looking to start her own business in the travel industry?
Anything worth doing will be hard.
There is no silver bullet or shortcut. You have to put in the time, effort and energy to make something meaningful and successful. You have to love what you. That passion will drive you. There are ups and downs and the highs are super high and the lows are painfully low. You will go through all of them, over and over again. It is worth it. You are worth it. As women, we are passionate and driven and surrounding yourself with other like-minded women will help encourage and inspire you!
Where can we find Waypoint Goods online?
Instagram: @waypointgoods #waypointgoods
Facebook: @waypointgoods
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