tourism podcast Archivi - Dolores Semeraro Tourism Keynote Speaker

Women and Non-Binary Tourism Entrepreneurs

Dolores Semeraro — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:06:24 +0000

Truth Behind Travel Podcast

Challenges and Opportunities for Women and Non-Binary Tourism Entrepreneurs through wmnsWORK

Dolores Semeraro interviews Iris Serbanescu – the founder of wmnsWORK – her journey from risk management to tourism, highlighting her 12-year career in marketing and partnerships.

How she founded wmnsWORK, an award-winning tourism accelerator for women entrepreneurs, during the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of systemic change, noting that while 60% of the travel workforce is female, only 8% hold executive positions.

wmnsWORK has supported 60 entrepreneurs over three years, focusing on intuition, networking, and mentorship.

wmnsWORK is a 12-week virtual, equity free accelerator program designed specifically to support women and non-binary tourism entrepreneurs during the most critical part of their business journey – the early stages.

The Highlights

Starting wmnsWORK During the Pandemic

How the idea came from her desire to support the industry in building back better and her own lived experience in the industry with the resilience and innovation in mind emphasizing the importance of building businesses with intention and aligning them with personal capacity to avoid burnout.

Current State of Women in Travel and Tourism

Based on whether women in tourism are building, thriving, or just getting by, Iris expresses optimism, noting the rapid changes in gender equality and the increasing support for women-led ventures, discussing the emphasis on following capacity rather than growth at all costs, addressing the issue of burnout among women.

Choices and Future Impact

The increasing collaboration and gender equity policies being implemented in organizations around the world, the disparity in leadership roles in the travel industry, with women making up 60% of the workforce but holding less than 8% of executive positions.

Women-Led Businesses and Their Impact

The impact of women-led businesses in the travel industry, noting their alignment with sustainable development goals and regenerative practices as well as the importance of collaboration over competition and the symbiotic relationship between women and nature

About Iris Serbanescu

wmnsWORK was founded in 2022 by Iris Serbanescu, who has spent her decade-long career in the tourism industry consulting with and working alongside entrepreneurial ventures in tourism’s adventure, luxury and tech sectors.

Prior to this launch, Iris led partnerships at TourRadar, an online marketplace for multi-day tour operators, and was the manager of trade development at travel consultancy Bannikin before that.

L'articolo Women and Non-Binary Tourism Entrepreneurs proviene da Dolores Semeraro Tourism Keynote Speaker.

Experiential Hospitality with Catarina Varão

Dolores Semeraro — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 09:21:46 +0000

Truth Behind Travel Podcast

Experiential Hospitality at its best with Catarina Varão

Dolores Semeraro interviews founder of UniqueStays Catarina Varão on true experiential hospitality ultimately leads to social growth.

Portugal-based Catarina is passionate traveler by profession, hotel curator by vocation, dedicated to an adventurous lifestyle that inspires and teaches, in contrast to an immersive and “slow” pace of life. Full-time mother and part-time dreamer, whose main activity is consultancy in luxury hospitality and tourism. Hotelier, designer, trainer, coach, PTO (nor just “CEO” jack of all trades) of the company TH2 and founder of the luxury hotel soft brand UniqueStays. Graduated in Tourism Management, postgraduate in Tourism Products, Master in Hotel Management with Character and PhD in Geography.

The Highlights

On this episode:

The Importance of Guest Experience

The value of “time” in the hospitality industry and the need to focus on guest experience, where even small activities can make a significant impact on guest experience if done with dedication.
The loss of human touch in industrialized and standardized hospitality practices.

Sustainability and Local Involvement

The challenges of industrializing and standardizing hospitality, emphasizing the importance of local community involvement, calling out The McDonaldization of the world and the rise of small boutique hotels.
The importance of involving local communities in decision-making processes and the need to respect local habits and traditions while teaching sustainable practices.

Authenticity vs. Staged Experiences

The difference between authentic and staged experiences with the importance of raw moments over uber-staged experiences that repel tourists rather than attract them.
The importance of genuine interactions and experiences in creating a memorable guest experience.

L'articolo Experiential Hospitality with Catarina Varão proviene da Dolores Semeraro Tourism Keynote Speaker.

Women in Travel: How to Find your Voice and Connect

Dolores Semeraro — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 16:27:03 +0000

Truth Behind Travel Podcast

Women in Travel: How to Find your Voice in Travel, Evolve and Connect with others - in conversation with Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Summary

Dolores Semeraro interviews Lola Akinmade Åkerström as a true voice of the women in travel, international bestselling author, keynote speaker, and award-winning travel photographer for National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure and more.

Lola Akinmade Åkerström was named one of 2023’s Most Influential Women in Travel by Travel Pulse and has been recognized with multiple prestigious awards for her work including Condé Nast Traveler’s 2024 Women Who Travel Power List.

Representing the leading voices of women in travel, Lola Akinmade Åkerström, renowned travel storyteller and photographer, shares her journey from a tech background to travel writing and photography, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and evolution in storytelling.

She discusses balancing social media trends with personal integrity, the challenges of overtourism, and the need for diversity in travel media.

Lola highlights her efforts to create opportunities for underrepresented voices, including her work with National Geographic and her startup venture. She passionately encourages aspiring storytellers to stay true to their voices and fight for representation.

The highlights

The balance between social media trends and maintaining the integrity of work, navigating strong currents while staying true to one’s purpose.
To Focus on the story and voice rather than chasing algorithms and social media metrics and the importance of being authentic and transparent with the audience.
Addressing the challenge of aligning client expectations with personal brand and setting boundaries with clients.
Fighting for Representation and Creating Opportunities and for that seat at the table in the travel photography industry.
Pivotal travel experiences, including Lola’s time in Fiji and Swedish Lapland and the importance of cultural connections and the impact of these experiences on her career.

About Lola Akinmade Åkerström

International bestselling author, keynote speaker, and award-winning travel photographer Lola Akinmade Åkerström has photographed and dispatched from 80+ countries for various publications.

Her work has appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, Slate, Travel Channel, Adventure.com Magazine, AFAR, Lonely Planet, and many more. She has collaborated with high profile commercial brands from Mercedes-Benz and Dove to Intrepid Travel and National Geographic Channel.

She is a Hasselblad Heroine and has been recognized with multiple prestigious awards and nominations for her work including Condé Nast Traveler’s 2024 Women Who Travel Power List. She was named one of 2023’s Most Influential Women in Travel by Travel Pulse.

She was honored with a 2021 Newsweek Future of Travel Award for Storytelling and MIPAD 100 (Most Influential People of African Descent) Award within media and culture in 2018.

L'articolo Women in Travel: How to Find your Voice and Connect proviene da Dolores Semeraro Tourism Keynote Speaker.