The Association of Women Travel Executives has bestowed its 2015 Honorary Award on Rita Beckwith, co-owner and chief executive of City Cruises.
Beckwith, who received the OBE in 2012 for services to the leisure and tourism industry and regeneration of London’s Docklands, founded City Cruises with her husband Gary in 1985.
Today, City Cruises carries more than three million passengers a year on a wide range of sightseeing, entertainment and charter services.
Beckwith accepted her award from breakfast television and Smooth Radio presenter Kate Garraway at the AWTE’s Annual Chair’s Awards, held on board one of her own river boats on the Thames.
Other awards presented on the night included the AWTE Company Award for Supporting Women in Business, which this year went to The Accord Group, and was accepted by director Sally Winfield.
Holland America Line and Seabourn Cruise Line UK managing director Lynn Narraway won the 2015 Business Impact Award.
Meanwhile, another five women were inducted in the AWTE’s ‘60 for 60’ list of the Most Influential Women in Travel.
Garraway told the audience that outside of breakfast television which has a high proportion of women working on it, television and radio in general is still male-dominated.
“There is a lot of talk about women and age in the media. But it’s not necessarily about age as a number, but about keeping fresh and relevant”, she said, adding that it was something she felt DJ Jo Whiley had done with huge success.