How Women are Changing the World Through Travel

Women are an integral, necessary force and driver for the travel industry. They’re leading destination marketing organizations and tour operators, guiding travelers on adventure expeditions and are the main decision-makers and travelers paving the way for ethical, responsible and sustainable tourism around the world. 

So in honor of International Women’s Month, which has a theme of “Give to Gain” this year, let’s take a look at just some of the myriad ways that women are changing the world for the better through travel. 

Women Directly Transforming Travel

An AdventureWomen group poses at Mt. Kilimanjaro. (Photo Credit: AdventureWomen)

Female travelers are directly transforming the way travel operates in a few key ways. Not only are women the ones making the majority of travel decisions for themselves, their friends and their families—they’re also leading the future of adventure and solo travel and are prioritizing more meaningful, ethical and restorative ways of traveling. 

Let’s dive into it. 

First off: women as travelers are making their mark on the travel industry. While 82 percent of all travel decisions are made by women, solo travel, one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry, is led by women. 

And the industry is taking note, offering more opportunities for solo travelers and specifically, female solo travelers, to discover the world. 

Take Geographic Expeditions. The tour operator is offering small-group Women of the World Collection journeys that connect women travelers with women leaders, conservationists and artisans on every trip, ensuring that travel is a force for female empowerment everywhere. 

One such trip is the 12-day Treasures of Türkiye trip, visiting Istanbul, ancient Ephesus and the Aegean coast. Along the way, travelers will visit a women-run weaving cooperative, enjoy a farm-to-table meal with an organic farmer and sail to ancient ruins. 

Insight Vacations, part of the TTC Tour Brands family, has also launched women-only tours, directly influenced by Deputy CEO Melissa DaSilva. Going beyond the brands’ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER commitment to supporting the environment and communities around the world, the women-only tours celebrate women around the world, with an emphasis on using travel to create positive change. 

Travel brands, especially tour operators, are making a positive impact on destinations around the world—and women travelers are often the main contributors of this positive change. 

Take Walk Japan, for example. Offering several different options for active adventures in Japan, Walk Japan experienced a 95 percent increase in solo women travelers aged 35-65 on their tours since 2019, and a 33 percent increase from 2024 to 2025—and women comprise a large part of their traveler base.

The operator’s ethical ethos includes visiting lesser-visited destinations throughout Japan,  itinerary creation with local partners, supporting areas that have struggled following natural disasters and partnering with over 1,000 family owner-managed vendors.

Rice harvesting in rural Japan, supported by tour operator Walk Japan's Community Project initiative. (Photo Credit: Walk Japan)

In addition, Walk Japan has helped save farmland and provide economic opportunities in rural Japan through its Community Project; in 2025, the project harvested over 15,000 pounds of low-chemical input rice, which is expected to double this year. 

Female Leadership Creating Lasting Change 

While women who travel have a distinct power and influence to do good by their choices and increasingly evolving travel desires, women in positions of power within the travel industry are also making a positive impact on the travel industry and from it, the world. 

Leanna Haigh, CEO of Lemala Camps & Lodges, is one of these women. Lemala Camps & Lodges offers safari experiences in Northern Tanzania and Uganda, with properties in well-known safari destinations like the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. 

Beyond helping the brand grow and expand sustainably since she took control in 2013, she also appointed Lemala’s first female safari guides, bringing greater opportunities to women in the communities the camps and lodges are located. At the executive level, she achieved full gender parity on the Executive Committee and on the Management Committee.

The campfire at the Lemala Osonjoi Lodge in Tanzania. (Photo Credit: Lemala Camps & Lodges)

During the pandemic, Haigh chose to put people first over profit, continuing to retain staff instead of lay off employees during the shutdown periods, protecting local families that are reliant upon tourism income. 

Haigh also directly led Lemala's mobile camps converting to solar power, reduced diesel consumption by 53 percent at one lodge and removed over 100 tons of plastic from national parks. In 2019, she created a sanitary pad project supporting schoolgirls in Tanzania, which has since distributed 2,690 kits to girls so they can continue their education. 

This past year, Leanne Haigh was named the Tanzanian CEO of the Year for her values-driven leadership. 

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen how women are truly transforming the travel landscape,” said Haigh. “At Lemala, from opening Mpingo Ridge and Nanyukie Lodges, to rebuilding Wildwaters, and welcoming Osonjoi, our female leaders and guides have been at the heart of every milestone. 

“Appointing women to executive roles, supporting young Maasai learners through our sanitary pad project, and leading with compassion during COVID have shown that when women lead with values and intention, they create lasting impact—not just for our teams, but for communities and guests alike,” she continued. “Recognition like the Tanzanian CEO of the Year award in 2025 reflects that leading with integrity, empathy and purpose is not only the right approach, it’s the approach that shapes the world positively.”

Another trailblazing woman is Sue Badyari, CEO of World Expeditions. The adventure travel tour operator offers expeditions to destinations across the globe, including remote ones like Tajikistan and Bhutan. 

Her connection to supporting local communities began during a trip to Nepal when she was 14. After working her way up to become CEO in 1999, Badyari evolved from a single-brand operator to a global multi-brand travel group, but her connection to supporting local communities and conservation was ever-present.

World Expeditions' CEO Sue Badyari in Bhutan. (Photo Credit: World Expeditions)

Women managers lead offices across the globe, including operations in Nepal, and under Badyari’s direction, World Expeditions supports the development of female guides, especially in regions where guiding is male dominated. 

She’s also Director of the World Expeditions Foundation, which funds regenerative travel projects across the world, and supports World Expeditions Schools, which combines travel with education, cultural exchange and environmental stewardship. 

Badyari earned a 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2025 Executive Leader of the Year award and the Woman of the Year award at Australia’s Women in Travel Awards. 

“Adventure travel has always been about more than reaching a destination,” said Sue Badyari, CEO of World Expeditions. “It’s about creating meaningful connections with people, landscapes and cultures, and ensuring that tourism contributes positively to the communities that welcome travelers.”

Championing the Future of Destination Stewardship

Beyond women travelers increasingly prioritizing more responsible forms of travel, and industry executives using their influence to positively impact communities through travel, there are also women working within destinations to support a more sustainable, equitable future. 

Nerissa Okiye, Tourism Director for the Martin County Office of Tourism & Marketing in South Florida is one of these women. 

Originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Okiye has transformed the tourism office from a traditional DMO to a system for environmental stewardship and responsible travel. 

She created the first in-house, countywide ecotourism program in the country partnered with Leave No Trace, called Explore Natural Martin, which launched in 2023 to offer guided tours to lesser known and critically important habitats, encouraging travelers to actively support the local environment. To-date, the program has connected with over 1,500 participants, all free of charge. 

The tourism office has also partnered with other credible organizations like the Audubon Society, the Florida Wildflower Foundation and the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society to provide programming for residents and locals alike.

A horticulturalist ecotour in Martin County, Florida is one experience travelers can enjoy thanks to the Explore Natural Martin initiative. (Photo Credit: Martin County Office of Tourism & Marketing)

Under Okiye’s leadership, the county experienced a 32 percent year-over-year increase in Tourism Development Tax collections, going directly towards environmental stewardship and nonprofit infrastructure, added two ecotourism positions to the office and created the Explore Natural Martin initiative. 

“Growing up on an island showed me that tourism isn’t just about experiences. It’s about livelihoods, resilience, and community,” said Okiye. “At the same time, I’ve always believed travel has the power to change you by broadening your perspective and helping you see both the world and yourself differently. That’s what drew me to this work, but it’s also what inspired me to shape it in a different, more intentional way.   

“I made a conscious decision to help redefine tourism as something that not just promotes a place, but that connects people with what makes that place special and unique,” Okiye continued. “When done right, tourism can create a love of that community, foster a desire around conservation, support local businesses, and create meaningful experiences that leave both visitors and residents better off. If we can inspire people to connect with a place and leave wanting to protect it, that’s how I know we’re creating an impact that lasts long after the trip is over. That is the kind of lasting impact tourism should have.”

Supporting Travel’s Positive Impact on the World 

Lastly, some women are supporting travel’s transformation in a different way: through foundations and non-profit organizations. 

The Conscious Travel Foundation is one such organization. The non-profit organization was created during the pandemic by Olivia Cryer and Maudie Tomlinson to help travel industry members grow their positive impact on nature, wildlife, cultures and communities by funding grassroots education, mentorship and philanthropy programs. 

The Conscious Travel Foundation offers resources like a climate fund that helps members co-invest in global climate projects, to a Community Impact Fund that provides necessary grants to support local initiatives around the world. 

In just five years, the foundation’s grown from 30 founding members to around 130 members, with DMCs, hoteliers, travel designers, marketing businesses, guides and other members of the travel industry. 

“For us, conscious travel is also about shifting the mindset so many of us have been conditioned into, that ‘more, more, more’ ideology, and moving towards decisions that are more thoughtful and more selfless,” said Cryer and Tomlinson. “It goes beyond a narrow definition of sustainability and asks for a holistic approach: considering everybody, and making sure what we build is equitable for everyone and everything.”

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