Every now and then, the travel industry receives a reminder that progress is not always driven by the newest voice in the room; sometimes it is guided by the steadiest hand.
A newly released report from Women Leading Travel makes that case with quiet authority, arguing that women over 50 may well be the sector’s most underappreciated strategic asset. Far from easing toward retirement, these leaders are entering what the report describes as their most impactful phase, armed with clarity, confidence and decades of hard-earned judgment.
It is less a reinvention than a long-overdue recognition.
The commercial power nobody should ignore
Let us begin with a number that should cause even the most distracted executive to look up from their coffee.
Women over 50 drive formidable travel spending. In fact, 100 percent of JourneyWoman bookings come from women over 45, with 75 percent from travellers aged 55 and above.
Yet despite this influence, and representing as much as 52–70 percent of the hospitality workforce, women hold only about 30 percent of leadership roles.
That imbalance is not merely a diversity issue; it is a commercial blind spot.
The report does not mince words, describing women over 50 as “one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces in travel and hospitality leadership.”
One might add: industries ignore such forces at their own peril.
Experience is not a liability, it is leverage
Travel today is no gentle cruise. Between pandemic recovery, technological disruption and shifting consumer expectations, leadership requires something sturdier than buzzwords.
It requires memory, institutional, operational, and human resources.
These leaders embody “resilience tested through multiple industry cycles” and bring the strategic thinking necessary to guide organisations through uncertainty.
Predictably, the data backs it up. Organisations with age-diverse leadership demonstrate up to 1.8 percent higher business value and 35 percent better problem-solving capability.
In a margin-sensitive industry, that is not statistical trivia. That is a competitive advantage.
And yet barriers persist. Six in ten workers aged over 50 report experiencing age discrimination, a signal that outdated assumptions still linger in hiring corridors.
Old habits, it seems, travel well though not always wisely.
Leaders who have seen a storm or two
The report profiles several executives whose careers read like maps of the modern travel era.
Take Yvette Burke of Enterprise Mobility, who views disruption not as a threat but as a catalyst.
“In times of transition, we’re not just reacting we’re reimagining… These moments push us to grow faster, think differently and ultimately emerge stronger.”
It is the sort of perspective rarely taught in a classroom but often earned in the trenches.
Then there is Zita Cobb, the force behind the Shorefast Foundation and Fogo Island Inn, whose regenerative tourism model reinvests profits directly into the community, contributing $235 million to the island’s GDP within its first decade.
Her stance on ageism is admirably brisk:
“I don’t see ageism. I don’t believe in it. It isn’t worthy of my attention or energy.”
One suspects many leaders would accomplish more if they adopted a similarly forward gaze.
Liz Dahlager of Mereté Hotel Management offers another reminder that relevance has little to do with birth certificates:
“Age is just a number! Being willing to learn, make mistakes, engage, TRY, is the key to longevity.”
Practical advice and refreshingly free of corporate theatre.
Leadership that lifts rather than shouts
Perhaps the most telling insight comes from Crescent Hotels & Resorts President Dawn Gallagher, who observes:
“True leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room… It’s about lifting others up, creating space for growth and helping people see their own potential.”
It is a philosophy that feels almost traditional and all the more powerful for it.
Indeed, women over 50 frequently serve as cultural anchors within organisations, preserving institutional knowledge while guiding teams through change.
Experience, after all, tends to steady the ship when the weather turns.
Innovation wears many faces
Contrary to popular myth, seasoned leadership is hardly resistant to change.
One emerging practice highlighted in the report is reverse mentoring, which pairs junior employees with senior leaders to bridge technological gaps and foster mutual learning.
Another is “intrapreneurial stewardship,” whereby experienced executives leverage their credibility to champion sustainability, diversity, and innovation initiatives within established organisations.
If anything, these leaders appear less afraid of transformation precisely because they understand what is worth preserving.
Research confirms that teams blending experience with fresh perspective solve complex challenges more effectively, a useful trait in a business where disruption has become routine.
A pivotal moment for the industry
The travel sector, the report notes, stands at a pivotal juncture shaped by technology, sustainability pressures and evolving consumer behaviour.
Organisations willing to recognise and elevate women over 50 stand to gain advantages in strategic planning, crisis management, talent development, and customer insights.
Those who do not may find themselves puzzling over why competitors seem calmer and smarter when turbulence arrives.
Ultimately, the message is straightforward: women over 50 are not winding down; they are powering forward with the kind of wisdom that only time can furnish.
Or, as the report elegantly suggests, the age of influence is not about looking back but about leveraging accumulated insights to build a more innovative and resilient future for the industry.
After decades spent helping travellers see the world, these leaders are now helping the industry see itself perhaps more clearly than ever before.
And if travel has always been about perspective, that may prove the most valuable journey of all.
To read the full report online, go to:
https://wlt.skift.com/resources/the-experience-advantage-women-leaders-redefining-travel.
by Jill Walsh – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 4 minutes.
About the Writer.
Jill Walsh has always kept a pen close and a suitcase closer. She started out on media releases, then learned the trade properly by escorting press trips around the world, discovering which stories travel well and which need a sharper edit.
Before long, she wasn’t just promoting destinations, she was representing them, translating civic ambition and local pride into words people actually wanted to read. These days, semi-retired and happily so, Jill has traded departure boards for deadlines, joining old friend and colleague Stephen at Global Travel Media on a casual basis.
Her patch is the business end of wanderlust: balance sheets, route maps, tender wins and the numbers that quietly decide where travellers go. She writes with dry humour, clean prose and an old-school respect for facts, a steady voice when the market starts shouting.
