Back in 2023, the World Travel &Tourism Council (WTTC) pointed out how over 50 percent of the global industry’s workforce is female.
During the Women Deliver Global Conference in Rwanda, then WTTC president and chief executive Julia Simpson called her audience’s attention towards women's involvement in travel and tourism, and how they may overcome challenges to succeed in the field.
This was something to think about: while women make up the majority of those working in travel and tourism, there aren’t enough of them in C-suite positions.
Simpson declared: “It is proven that companies that have 50 percent women in their leadership make more money. This makes even more sense in travel and tourism where women make the buying decisions on where to go on holiday. It also makes good sense to employ women in senior roles; why would you exclude access to 50 percent of global talent?”
Even today, three years since Simpson addressed the crowd in Rwanda, it is damning to know that less than 20 percent of C-suite roles in travel and tourism are held by women.
Also, women account for only around 25 percent of senior management positions in the field.
Our big question here is: will this change, especially in a region like Asia where the work culture remains stubbornly male-centric?
Women to the fore
In April of last year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Asia Regional Integration Centre reported that women made up 52 percent of the total tourism workforce throughout the continent.
Cambodia, in particular, with its strong slant towards community-forward regenerative tourism, proudly boasts that its human resource component for tourism is 60 percent female, and they are actively involved in the development of tourism products that show off the best of the country’s culture and traditions.
But this is not the case throughout the Asia Pacific; indeed, it is notable that only ten percent of resort employees in the Maldives are female, and of those, only three percent were hired locally.
This begs a particularly telling question regarding the presence of women in travel and tourism in the region: how is it that gender remains a bar to getting ahead in the field and what factors continue to serve as a hindrance?
Cause and effect
The WTTC posited an argument wherein the impact of COVID-19 on travel, tourism, aviation, and hospitality could be seen as a factor in the way women have passed over for industrial and sectoral leadership roles.
But think about it: we are now nearly four years from the time the pandemic ebbed; even before that, women struggled to take the top spots.
In Asia, other factors coming into play include:
- Age old cultural constraints In these enlightened days, there are still many parts of the region that remain under patriarchal control systems wherein women are only seen as caregivers and support staff. Religion could also be seen as a driving factor: Christianised nations like the Philippines boast of higher numbers of women in senior management compared to countries whose belief systems are built on a Confucian or even animistic foundation that sees women as of less importance to men;
- Lack of work-life balance In Asia’s family-centric societies, women are hard-pressed to find a sweet spot between work, family responsibilities, and societal roles. This constant need to juggle everything puts greater stress on individuals and drastically reduces the drive towards further advancement in their careers;
- Financial constraints, especially for entrepreneurs Real talk: it is much harder for a woman to get a loan to start a business than it is for a man. Also, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports that the possibility of women not getting paid for their work is 4.1 times higher than it is for men. The ADB has also noted that, as women in various parts of the region still do not qualify for property of their own, those seeking to establish travel-related businesses have little or no collateral at all to spare; and
- Lack of support and mentorship Literacy regarding entrepreneurship, staff and facility management, as well as the use of relevant technologies remains a challenge, especially among women living in emergent economies. A UNESCO report shows that this is particularly true in rural areas where would-be-entrepreneurs have little to no access to proper tools and training; and this significantly reduces their chances to succeed.
A way out
Fortunately, things are changing throughout the world as well as the region.
According to an August 2025 report from LHC International, we are seeing a significant increase in mentorship and sponsorship programmes for women in hospitality and travel.
The report specifically cites Marriott International’s various initiatives for leadership development and mentoring.
Marriott’s Women’s Leadership Development Initiative, in particular, has been instrumental in increasing the number of women working at the global vice-president level by 47 percent and 57 percent for women at the C-suite level.
But the fact remains: for every 100 men promoted to senior executive roles, only up to 81 women are considered for them.
Nevertheless, with the number of leadership training programmes increasing for travel professionals throughout the Asia Pacific, we are certain that we will be seeing more women in the top spots in the foreseeable future.
