Letter from the Founder | March 2021
The Women of Guide Collective
Clockwise from top left | Sarah Murdoch, Charlie Rawson, Juliet Romano-Olsen, Helen Houston, Trish Feaster, Anna Savino, Susan Brown, Susanna Perrucchini, Liz Lister, Lisa Anderson, Nina Seffusatti
Happy March to you all!
Spring is on the way and hope for a return to normal is on the horizon. We at Guide Collective are feeling change and hope, and we wish to continually inspire you to hold onto your travel dreams.
This month our theme is “Women.” This is an apt topic for Guide Collective, as we are a woman-led organization. Our guides this month will share varying views of women around the world and what women have meant in our lives.
We’ll start the month with a piece from Ben Curtis about the top country in the world for best quality of life for women, a history of the most powerful women of Navarre by Fran Glaría, and the tales of an intrepid French woman full of mystique and moxie from Nina Seffusatti (who also leads GC Book Club for this month).
March also marks the debut of a new, weekly event called “Guide Collective Presents.” This exciting program will feature live walks, virtual tour slideshows, cooking classes, and whatever else our guides dream up. All events will take place on Saturdays at 9am PST. The cost is $20 per device, proceeds will benefit the guide and the GC general fund. Space will be limited so that guides can interact with attendees. Jorge Román will captain the first event on Saturday, March 6.
And our very own intern, Juliet Romano-Olsen, launches a new project this month called “Music Mondays.” She’ll be introducing some of her favorite artists and tunes from around the globe that have helped shape her world perspective sonically and lyrically. We’re so amazed by this young woman’s intellect, travel savvy, and desire to connect with the world around her.
Women are becoming more and more of a force in the travel business. In my years working as a guide, I have seen the number of women solo travelers explode. Even when women travel with a male partner, the statistics show that 80% of travel decisions are made by women. Considering that statistic, it is surprising how rare it is that we see women as the protagonists of travel on our TVs and in our media. We just don’t see people that look like us as often as we should. The thing is, representation matters, inspiring girls and young women by showing them that they too can see the world is important. I noticed this more than a decade ago and have made it a mission to try and be a part of changing that.
Traveling often as a writer and guide, I am usually alone. It has always been so strange to me that people I meet ask why I’m alone or where my partner is. I suspect that most men traveling solo aren’t asked this question. The reality is that we, the solo female travelers, are legion. More than 30 million American women travel solo every year, and the number is growing. The generations of women coming up behind mine, Millennials and Zoomers (Generation Z), are traveling far more frequently and independently than my Gen X compatriots, and most wouldn’t think twice about going it alone.
What does this mean for the future of the travel business? It means that it needs to evolve to meet the needs of women, and to promote the fact that women are out there experiencing the world, which is a different experience than men have. Topics like safety and cultural challenges need to be addressed. The place to start, though, is to raise awareness that women are such a driving force behind travel choices. We hope that our work here brings more female voices to the table.
Andiamo,
Sarah