Women in Travel CIC has released its first-ever Social Impact Report on International Women’s Day to mark its fifth anniversary.
The social enterprise labelled the report a “deep dive into the impact of the life-changing initiatives and programmes” it has delivered since its inception in 2018.
In the last five years, Women in Travel has supported more than 1,200 women across all programmes and helped 154 women with over 1,200 hours of guided support through its Employability Programme, the report found.
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The report said Women in Travel has supported 80 women who had lost their income as a result of the collapse of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry during the Covid pandemic and trained the first three women micro-entrepreneurs as tour guides in its Entrepreneurship Programme.
Women in Travel managing director and founder, Alessandra Alonso, said: “It’s so rewarding to take a detailed look back at what we’ve achieved over the last five years, and I’d like to extend a huge thank you everyone that has partnered, supported and engaged with our work and our community in that time.
“We knew we had been busy, and we knew we had made a significant impact in providing life-changing training, mentoring and opportunity.
“With the fallout of Brexit and the Covid pandemic, our mission has become increasingly important, and more and more companies are seeing the benefits of having access to the often hidden and invisible talent that Women in Travel affords – it’s a win-win for both business and individual.”
The report’s release comes after Alonso was recognised by two organisations that celebrate the achievement of women in social enterprise.
She was named among the annual NatwestWISE100 Top Women in Social Enterprise 2022, which recognises the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven business in the UK, and the European-wide Euclid Network Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise 2022 which awards women leaders who have demonstrated significant social and/or environmental change in this sector.
Women in Travel is a UK-based social enterprise dedicated to empowering all women using travel, tourism and hospitality as a ‘force for good’, with the founding principle that empowered women thrive and in turn foster thriving communities.
It partners with employers and charities to provide women – especially those who are marginalised, vulnerable and under-represented – with visibility, confidence, access to training and mentoring, and eventually employment and enterprise.
Many of its beneficiaries, particularly those on its Employability Programme, are referred from domestic abuse, refugee or modern slavery charities such as Refuge, the Refugee Council and the Sophia Hayes Foundation.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded from Women in Travel’s website.
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