Equality in Tourism are incredibly proud to announce that we will be launching the world’s first ever Gender Equality in Tourism award. This award will be presented to the winners at the next ITB in March 2023, which is the world’s biggest tourism trade fair that takes place every year in Berlin, Germany. The international award will be the first of its kind and is designed to improve gender equality within tourism businesses from around the world and to support them to integrate gender equality into their company policies and work practices. It will recognise tourism organisations that display excellence in their commitment to gender equality. We also feel that this award will help identify best practices, drive improvement, celebrate excellence, and reward leaders who are already doing excellent work in this field.
Till this day there is no award celebrating gender equality in tourism and hospitality businesses, which is why the creation of such an award is so important; it will garner an increase in awareness of the need for gender equality in tourism.
We’re immensely grateful to the organisers of ITB for their support as we will be given the opportunity to award the winner in front of a multitude of companies that currently have no gender-protection policies in place. To give you an idea of how big this tourism trade show is; in 2019 (the last time the event took place physically due to the pandemic) it attracted around 10,000 exhibitors from 181 countries who displayed their tourism products and services to roughly 160,000 international visitors. The companies that exhibit at the trade show generally include hotels, tourist boards, tour operators, travel technology companies, airlines and car rental companies.
Applications for the Equality in Tourism Award are open to all organisations from around the world that operate within the travel industry. The deadline for applications is the 17th January 2023. The Equality in Tourism Award ceremony will take place during the trade show on Wednesday, 8th March 2023: International Women’s Day. We will be issuing our call for applications in the coming weeks so keep your eyes on our social media pages for more details.
