Afrikable, Fundación Codespa and Women in Travel CIC are the projects that were chosen for their contribution to gender equality in the tourism industry and their replicability. The awards will be given on the 19 May, within Fitur 2021.
MADRID – FiturNext, the FITUR observatory dedicated to promoting sustainable good tourism practises, sponsored by Mastercard, announced the three winning initiatives for its 2021 challenge: Afrikable, Fundación Codespa and Women in Travel CIC, this year dedicated to promoting gender-equality in the tourism industry. The decision was made after analysing over 400 projects from around the world, related to the tourism sector.
Initiatives awarded for their contribution and replicability
The selection process for the winning initiatives was based on the Replicability Barometer, a model developed by the FiturNext Observatory that evaluates the possibility of adapting practises to other sector agents who have different resources and are within different contexts. The Impact Barometer was also created for this edition of the Observatory, a tool that combines several indicators to measure the projects’ repercussion and which is completed by personal interviews. Lastly, the notes from the FiturNext Advisory Council were taken into consideration, providing international external evaluation.
Employability and inclusiveness, the main focus of the winning initiatives
The three winning initiatives have in common their significant contribution when facing current challenges regarding gender-equality and generating value in tourism by promoting employability and inclusiveness.
Specifically, Afrikable is an organisation that offers job opportunities for women within the tourism sector in Kenya. Through the project “Solidarity Holidays” it organises trips to the African country, contracting all the services with local women and contributing to their professional development and independence. The initiative generates positive impact by providing work for between 50 to 100 women who are in at-risk situations.
Fundación Codespa is an organisation that, through its “Rutas” program, promotes rural community and inclusive tourism through its work in Peru and Bolivia. It offers rural tourism hikes led mainly by women. A total of 312 entrepreneurs were able to create their own business thanks to this help. Their proposal not only increases women’s presence in the sector, but it also affords them a larger role in the family economy.
Lastly, Women in Travel CIC is a social company from England that uses tourism as a force for positive impact, at the same time generating job opportunities for women who are in at-risk situations. Through their programmes they have trained over 2,000 women for professional environments, and one in three have found a job. The initiative is also beneficial for tourism companies, as it promotes recruiting female talent in the industry.
Runner-up projects and their contribution to gender equality
In addition to the three winning initiatives, another nine projects were declared runner-up in the 2021 FiturNext challenge, thanks to their support for women’s leadership:
- Open Eyes Project, organises trips to India, hiring women who are in at-risk situations.
- Active Woman, helps female entrepreneurship through trips in Nature.
- RaizUp, supports a global community to help women find employment in the industry.
- Women in eTravel, increases visibility of women at public events.
- Equality Tourism, empowers women who are in at-risk situations in Tanzania to become suppliers to hotels in the region.
- Fundación Santander (Best Africa), provides financial help and training for women to develop projects in Gambia, Senegal and Morocco.
- Fundación EnVía, supports communities of indigenous women in Oaxaca to promote their businesses.
- Fundación Barceló, its program offers training scholarships in tourism for women, to help them build a career in the Dominican Republic.
- Asset, offers an area where best practises can be shared among women who are leaders in the tourism sector.
- Talks and presentations by renowned industry professionals will be offered at the awards ceremony
The awards will be given within Fitur between the 19 and 23 May, along with an ample program of talks, presentations and discussions with renowned industry professionals who are committed to equality. FiturNext will also present its 2021 report.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
