Founder and managing director Alessandra Alonso said the group has "exciting plans" to further develop its work with women in the travel industry, but said the social enterprise needs "investors to understand the value and support us".
Her comments come as the group releases its inaugural Social Impact Report to mark its fifth anniversary, described as a "deep dive into the impact of life-changing initiatives and programmes" it has developed since its inception in 2018.
In the last five years Women in Travel has supported more than 1,207 women across all programmes and helped 154 women with over 1,200 hours of guided support through its employability programme.
The report said the social enterprise supported 80 women who had lost their income as a result of the pandemic into training or employment and successfully trained the first three women micro-entrepreneurs as tour guides as part of its entrepreneurship programme.
The group also delivered mentoring to more than 2,000 women across nine international travel expos between 2017 and 2021 and supported 72 women who were unemployed or self-employed and at risk of losing their income due to the pandemic.
Furthermore, Alonso was recognised by two organisations that celebrate the achievement of women in social enterprise: the annual NatwestWISE100 Top Women in Social Enterprise 2022 and the Euclid Network Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise 2022.
Alonso said it is "so rewarding to take a detailed look back at what we’ve achieved over the last five years", and extended thanks to everyone that has partnered, supported and engaged with the group’s work 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," she added.
"With the fallout of Brexit and the Covid-19 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."
