Women who are too busy and modest to proclaim their achievements in travel were recognised in an award ceremony last week.
Held on Thursday night in London, the inaugural Shine Awards Ceremony saw industry executives gather to recognise the work of women who have succeeded in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.
Among the winners was Gillian Chapple, who graduated from university in 2002 and started online hotel booking service Bedsearcher, working up to 120 hours a week in the early days. She got the “Young Achiever of the Year Award”.
Also in attendance was Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, Litsa Constatinou, managing director of STA Travel, Nishma Patel, managing director of Teletext TV and Sandra Elliott, deputy chief executive of Visit London.
According to Shine, the mentoring and training agency that organised the awards, women represent up to 70% of the workforce in travel, tourism and hospitality. Speaking about the female workforce in a statement, Shine said: “Their dedication, passion and achievement go often unnoticed because women are frequently too modest to shout about it or too busy juggling life’s many priorities.”
Other winners were Chris Browne, managing director of First Choice Airways; Doreen McKenzie, proprietor of Knock Travel in Belfast; Sandie Dawe, communication director of Visit Britain; Heidi Truman, manager of KPMG Hospitality and Leisure Division; and Sunny Crouch, managing director of The World Trade Centre in London.
Shine co-founders Gaby Marcon and Alessandra Alonso, said in a statement: “We hope these awards will not only raise awareness on women’s contribution to the industry, but provide role models and inspiration for other women and help more businesses appreciate that personal and professional development is key to the retention of talented professional and the long term prosperity of the industry.”
Report by Ginny McGrath
