Join Women In Tourism and #BeBoldForChange

On Wednesday 8th March we were delighted to host the first Women In Tourism (WIT) event of 2017. Held in The Place in Edinburgh to coincide with International Women’s Day, we welcomed over 65 attendees for an evening of networking and panel discussion. 

Susan Russell, Chair of WIT welcomed delegates and introduced the new structure and Membership of WIT.

Susan sought engagement across the sector with the introduction of four new Working Groups – Membership, Events, Communications and Policy. Each group will be chaired by a member of the WIT Board with the groups responsible for driving their area of work.  Colleagues in the sector interested in being involved in a group should email susan@womenintourism.co.uk

For £40 a year, colleagues across the industry can now join as a member and receive the following initial benefits:

• A 60-minute mentoring session
• Access to an industry-wide skill-swap
• Discounts at future WIT events and those run by key partners
• Access to a dedicated WIT app

Aileen Lamb then took over as chair of the evening’s discussion with panellists asked to share their thoughts on the biggest changes they implemented within their careers; what changes they wished they’d undertaken and what they hope for in the future of the industry.

Delegates agreed and sympathised with the speakers, notably on issues such as finding a work/life balance  and in finding and accessing mentoring support and networks within the sector.

WIT recognised a need for undertaking regional events in the future, with the Events Working Group leading on taking this forward. Periscope was utilised to live stream the event to enable access to those unable to attend the event and #WomenInTourism trended widely, only beaten by Barcelona (bad football pun!).

We hope you are able to join WIT as a member and work with the WIT Board to #BeBoldForChange as we enter the next phase of development of Women In Tourism.