Hold onto your hats: It’s the Women In Travel Power List longlist!

Hold onto your hats: It’s the Women In Travel Power List longlist!
By James Harrison


Brace yourself because what you’re about to see is the absolute top of the women in the travel industry!

The Women In Travel Power List longlist has the ladies who are the juggernauts, the who’s who, the true trailblazers of travel and when we say they are leading the world of travel, we mean it!

This list has come together from hours and hours of expert examination of our industry to understand who’s at the top. But we want to hear from you (a bit more).

If you’d like to nominate someone that you feel absolutely deserves to be on this list then click here to put that person’s name down.

We’ll then throw the combined list to our judging panel to select the top picks, thus arriving at the final 20 which will be announced on the Women In Travel Awards night (5 December, in case you needed a reminder).

So, enough of the waffle, here’s what you came to the article to see: the Women In Travel Power List longlist (in alphabetical order).

  1. Alice Ager – MD, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
  2. Alice Moore – Director, Elysse Collective
  3. Alicia Triggs – Executive GM Sales & Partnerships, Journey Beyond
  4. Allison Haworth West – GM, Captain Cook Cruises Fiji
  5. Anna McMurtrie – MD, Wentworth Travel
  6. Anne Wild – MD, Anne Wild & Associates
  7. Barbara Whitten – MD, Anywhere Travel
  8. Cara Morton – Group CEO, Covermore
  9. Carole Smethurst – MD, Bicton Travel
  10. Caroline Hitchen – GM, Cruise HQ
  11. Cassi Tormey – Owner, Cornerstone L&D
  12. Cinzia Burnes – Executive Director, Helloworld
  13. Christina Werkstetter – SVP Aviation Partnerships, Sydney Airport
  14. Danielle Galloway – MD Luxury & Independent Brands, Flight Centre Travel Group
  15. Deb Corbett – GM, Ponant 
  16. Debra Fox – MD, A&K
  17. Fiona Dalton – GM, Virtuoso Travel
  18. Gai Tyrrell – MD, Globus family of brands
  19. Halina Kubica – MD, Greece and Mediterranean Travel Centre
  20. Hayley Jane Morris – Founder, Sisterhood Womens Travel
  21. Jacqui Walshe – Executive Chairman, Walshe Group
  22. Jayne Hrdlicka – CEO, Virgin Australia
  23. Jean Summers-Reeves – Director, Globenet Travel/Clean Cruising
  24. Jill Abel – CEO, Australian Cruise Association
  25. Julie King – Founder & CEO, Julie King & Associates and Bonailie
  26. Julie Primmer – Co-Founder/Director, Ascend Travel Group
  27. Justine Waddington – Founder & Director, Encounter Travel
  28. Kara Glamore – VP Australia, Carnival Cruise Line
  29. Karen Deveson – Group GM Cruise, Helloworld
  30. Karen McGilvray – MD NSW & ACT, Corporate Travel Management
  31. Karen Merricks – Co-Founder, MTA travel
  32. Kathryn O’Brien – GM Australia, Air New Zealand
  33. Kaylene Shuttlewood – MD, Amadeus
  34. Leanne Harwood – SVP & MD JAPAC & President, Accommodation Australia
  35. Lorie Argus – CEO, Melbourne Airport 
  36. Lisa Burquest – Chief People Officer, Virgin Australia
  37. Lisa Teiotu – MD, MSC Cruises
  38. Lisa Pagotto – GM & Founder, Crooked Compass
  39. Lisa Pile – VP & GM, Regents Seven Seas Cruises
  40. Lou Tandy – Co-Owner, APT
  41. Louise Dann – GM, Helloworld Travel Hunter Travel Group
  42. Louise Laing – GM Marketing, Intrepid
  43. Lynda Wallace – Co-Founder/Director, Ascend Travel Group
  44. Lynne Clarke – Chairman, MSC
  45. Marion Bunnik – Founder, Bunnik Tours
  46. Marion Charlton – COO, Gold Coast Airport 
  47. Michelle Black – MD, Viking Cruises 
  48. Nicole Boyer – GM Supplier Partnerships, CT Partners
  49. Nicole Strudwick – GM Sales, Travellers Choice
  50. Penny Spencer – MD, Spencer Travel
  51. Phillipa Harrison – MD, Tourism Australia
  52. Philippa Walker – Marketing Director APAC, Silversea
  53. Sarah Clark – CEO, Tourism Tasmania
  54. Sarina Bratton – Chairman APAC & Special Advisor to Executive, Ponant
  55. Shelley Poten – MD, Albatross Tours, Managing Director
  56. Stacey McBride – Manager, Accommodation Australia
  57. Stephanie Tully – CEO, Jetstar Group
  58. Sue Badyari – CEO, World Expeditions
  59. Susan Coghill – CMO, Tourism Australia
  60. Susan Haberle – VP Sales & Partnerships, A&K
  61. Susie Potter – CEO, The Africa Safari Co.
  62. Toni Ambler – MD ANZ, TTC Tour Brands (Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Trafalgar Costsaver & Contiki)
  63. Vanessa Hudson – CEO, Qantas
  64. Vanessa Wallace-Kaplan – MD, V Travel Network
  65. Yana Sharvts – Acting Country Manager & Marketing & Communications Manager, South Africa Tourism
  66. Yen Kho – Country Manager, Qatar Airways
  67. Yvette Thompson – GM Sales & Partnerships, Intrepid

Big thanks to our sponsors!

Latest News

  • Tourism

Nielsen Data reveals brands spending big to attract Aussie tourists

TripADeal had the biggest outlay of the more than $153 million spent on travel and tourism advertising in Australia in the first quarter of 2024, followed by Virgin Australia and Flight Centre-owned Ignite Travel, new Nielsen Ad Intel data has revealed. And the industry ad spend enjoyed an increase of 8 per cent on the […]

  • Luxury
  • News

Kamalaya Koh Samui clinches clutch of wellness awards

Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa has so far clinched five prestigious awards in 2024, including being inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the World Spa & Wellness Awards in London. Founders of the Koh Samui sanctuary and spa John and Karina Stewart expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the awards. “We are profoundly honoured […]

  • Partner Content

My journey: Before becoming a travel agent I was… a palliative care nurse 

Australind Travel & Cruise, Travellers Choice member Saibra Twigg reveals her life as paediatric nurse then to palliative care before a career leap to travel agent. How did you become a palliative care nurse?  ST I went straight from school in nursing and initially specialised in paediatrics, working at Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. […]

Partner Content

by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly
  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]