The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) will be hosting the 7th edition of the ‘Celebrating Her Awards’ at ITB Berlin on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Initiated in 2016, this event aims to recognise and honour outstanding women in the field of tourism for their contributions to promoting peace and understanding through their work.
The prestigious awards ceremony is scheduled to take place from 14:15 to 15:30 at the Hybrid Stage in Hall 5.3 of ITB Berlin. Julia Simpson, the President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), will deliver the keynote address during the event.
This year’s Celebrating Her Award winners are:
- Suma Venkatesh – Executive VP – Real Estate & Development and Asset Management, The Indian Hotels Co. Ltd – recognized for her outstanding contributions to Inclusion and Diversity in the tourism sector.
- Marija Labovic – CEO & MD, National Tourism Organisation of Serbia – honored for her exceptional work in shaping Tourism Policy.
- Adrianna Kruger – Founder, Tzaneen Country Lodge, Limpopo province, South Africa – acknowledged for her commitment to Sustainable Tourism.
Commenting on the Awards, Ajay Prakash, who assumed charge as Global President of IIPT in September 2023 says, “The Awards are being held a couple of days before the International Women’s Day but our champions need to be felicitated every day of the year and each one of our award winners today is a champion. Gender equality, which is a critical part of the United Nations SDGs, is intrinsic to IIPT’s global aims and objectives and integral to fostering peace. It is also our intention, through these awards to create a network of powerful women across the world in the tourism sphere who could work with each other and serve as role models and mentors while representing IIPT as our Global Ambassadors of Peace and sustainable development.
Rika Jean-Francois, CSR Commissioner for ITB Berlin says, “We are very happy to collaborate with IIPT for these wonderful awards. The Celebrating Her awards were first organised at ITB Berlin 2016 and have become one of our very important events. Women play such an important role in tourism and the recognition and empowerment of women is critical for fostering peace and sustainability.”
Kiran Yadav, Director of Strategy and Global Outreach added, “IIPT India started the awards process when we awarded 5 exceptional Indian women at the Maharashtra International Travel Mart in 2015, it is a matter of pride that the Celebrating Her awards have today become one of the most coveted and cherished awards globally.”
