Our fantastic female-led local partners

At TravelLocal we’re proud to support many fantastic female-led local travel companies around the world. In honour of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we thought we’d introduce you to a few of these inspirational women to shine a light on the amazing work they’re doing, both in the travel industry and within their local communities.  

Poly, Brazil

Poly is a true travel industry powerhouse, setting up our partner company in Brazil after founding not one, but two travel companies previously. Her (all-female) team is based in Sao Paulo, and they strive to ensure that all of their trips include meaningful, unique experiences which benefit local communities and travellers alike!

Poly says: “We work really hard to partner with female owned businesses and community projects run by women. I’m a big believer in “women supporting women,” and think it’s my responsibility as a business owner to bring other female-led businesses to the forefront of the travel industry in Brazil along with us.

I’ve also just taken on a position as President of an NGO that supports community based tourism around Brazil. In Brazil, most of these projects are led by women from traditional communities, so I’m excited to be in a position to learn from these women, and share my experiences with them in order to empower them to bring economic gain to their families and destinations.”

Nan Win, Myanmar

Women in Myanmar are a force to be reckoned with and Nan Win, the founder of our partner company, is no exception to this rule. Having been brought up amidst the onset of the military oppression, she has certainly never let this hold her back, working extensively in tourism and living in the UK and Australia before setting up her business in 2008.

Her primary desire when founding the business was to help local communities, especially the women within them, to gain economic benefits from tourism, whilst providing truly amazing holidays for travellers.

Nan Win says: “Our company helps local women directly and indirectly through its visits to local communities with our customers.” 

When booking through Nan Win’s company via TravelLocal, “the women of Myanmar gain direct benefits, which in turn helps their communities to gain indirect benefits through supply chains.”

Cindy, Ghana

Cindy founded our partner company in Ghana with her husband Apollo. Their expertise lies in sustainable tourism which allows visitors to experience the real culture of West Africa, whilst also benefiting the local population. They have now been welcoming visitors for over 17 years!

Their close work with local communities has led Cindy to be given the title of Queen Mother in the village of Atsiekpoe – a position which comes with great responsibility. Through this opportunity, Cindy has helped the residents of the village to coordinate the build of the Green Clinic Project, a maternal health centre which will allow mothers in the area to give birth safely with the care of a local midwife.

Some of the money raised to fund the project came from a community tourism initiative set-up between our partner company and the residents of the village. This means that when you book a trip to Ghana through TravelLocal, you are directly contributing to the empowerment of local communities in the region – especially women.   

Cindy says: “The people of Atsiekpoe installed me as the Queen mother of Development, Mama Dunenyo, in 2009. I am normally not very open about this (I am rather sceptical when outsiders are installed as traditional Queen Mothers and Chiefs), but I accepted this position and embraced the responsibilities and the opportunities. We nurtured a very fruitful relationship and many development initiatives including the current Green Clinic Project.  

“Their spirit to realise this dream is infectious and has also become my personal dream. This clinic will enhance the dignity of women in this part of Ghana, during these very significant phases in their lives, from puberty, pregnancy and delivery, child care, family planning and counselling, and old age.”

Some of our other female-led local partners around the world include…

Margaret and Michelle in the Falkland Islands – Margaret and Michelle are great friends who co-own the longest established tour operator in the archipelago.

Astrijd in Costa Rica – Astrijd runs our partner company from their offices in San Jose and heads up their all-female Sales Team.

Jessica in Peru – Jessica runs our family-owned, Peruvian local partners who have been running since 1977.

Tan and Kulilar in Cambodia – Tan and Kulikar are the fantastic mother and daughter team who have welcomed nearly 17,000 visitors to their country. 

Gulnora in Uzbekistan – Gulnora is a TravelLocal veteren and was our first ever local partner!

Chania in Kenya – Chania was the brains behind our Kenyan partners, and between them her team of 9 have over 150 years of experience in the travel industry.

Hue and Ly in Vietnam – Hue and Ly are our energetic partners who are pioneers of sustainable tourism and members of the Responsible Travel Club of Vietnam.

These are just a few of our talented female-led local partners around the globe. When booking a holiday through TravelLocal you are helping to boost these businesses and their employees, as well as countless women who take part in the community-based tourism initiatives which our partners support. 

Make it happen

To start planning your next holiday, submit an enquiry to our local experts who can help build your bespoke itinerary. To speak to someone in the TravelLocal office please call +44 (0)117 325 7898.