This interview is part of our Women in Travel series, highlighting female talent in the travel industry. Entries are currently open for our 2025 awards, enter HERE.
Winner of last year’s Most Outstanding Tour Operator of the Year Award, Shelley Poten has a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with the industry.
Not only managing director of Albatross Tours but also a fierce advocate for female empowerment, we spoke to Shelley ahead of our 2025 Women in Travel Awards about the impact of the awards, what she’s striving for in her career, and how things are changing for women.
TW: What do you think is powerful about the women in travel awards?
Poten: I think it’s a collective bringing us all together to celebrate the amazing women in the industry, and to celebrate the stories.
I think at a cultural level they’re so motivating to the people that are recognised, but also to the businesses that are behind those people. Because it’s always a team effort when you get celebrated in that space.
TW: What impact did winning the Most Outstanding Tour Operator of the Year Award have on your work and what motivation did the award give you?
Poten: I was extremely honoured to receive that award last year and to be named on the Women in Travel Power List. It was quite impactful being recognised on such a natural stage in the industry. I was already quite purpose-driven to give back and to positively influence emerging leaders in our industry, but the recognition really reinforced that motivation to utilise my position and resources where I can as a platform for good.
Since then, I’ve become more actively involved in the Travel Industry Mentor Experience, the TIME program, which has been an immensely rewarding experience as a mentor and a brilliant platform for anyone in the industry who wants to give back and foster the development of emerging leaders. I’ve taken on two new mentees over that period of time so it’s reinforced that motivation more generally to use this position and resource where I can.
The biggest change has been my mindset. It’s really renewed my commitment to evolving Albatross whilst keeping the values at heart and respecting what is unique and special about the brand. Since the award we’ve spent more time listening to customers and agency partners, refreshed our brand, and brought two new destinations and an exclusive luxury collection to market.
TW: This year’s Women in Travel Awards theme is ‘Reach New Heights’; what does that mean to you?
Poten: Reaching new heights for me means striving for excellence in everything you do, and lifting up others around you as you do it.
TW: How have you seen female empowerment and equality change in the last 12 months?
Poten: I think within our industry it’s become a point of focus where a lot of organisations are doing a lot of really great things on every level, and certainly the Women in Travel Awards is an amazing example of what Travel Weekly does in that space. But I would say that there’s still a lot of work to be done in Australia and in the industry in general.
In Australia we’ve seen some positive steps with the government’s requirement for employees with more than 100 employees to publish their gender pay gaps, the Status of Women Report Card in its second year, and the implementation of gender quality action plans in many organisations.
But there is still a really long way to go. Around the world in the past 12 months women’s empowerment and gender quality has experienced setbacks in a lot of countries, with one in four reporting a backlash against women’s rights according to UN women. We’re seeing increased discrimination and violence, weaker legal protections, and reduced funding in many cases, which highlights the vulnerability of the progress made to date and the importance of defending it.
TW: How do you think that we can tackle that as an industry?
Poten: There are many things that all organisations can do. I think mentoring is a really good tool in trying to do something from a grassroots perspective. But I also think there’s a variety of other tools out there, such as Unconscious Bias training. There’s programs that we can put in place now like the gender equality action plans that many organisations are adopting, and there’s plenty of things from a senior leadership perspective that can be done, from leading by example and calling out unconscious bias to Executive Sponsorship; not just mentoring women but advocating for their career advancement at an executive level.
I think there’s action required at every level of every organisation if we’re going to see real and meaningful change in this space. And that’s why these things that Travel Weekly are doing are so important and it’s so important to keep this conversation going and make that lasting progress.
TW: What advice would you give to any women who are thinking about or have just started out in the travel industry?
Poten: I would say that it’s a brilliant industry. It’s one that is fulfilling, rewarding, and one that they will fall in love with.
I would say to get to know your values and use them as a Northstar; to seek and own their self development – your career is your responsibility and the effort you put into yourself is directly correlated to the outcomes that you achieve; to back yourself – write your accomplishments down as you achieve them, and in those inevitable moments of self-doubt use that evidence of your achievements to overcome your fears. Build a personal brand to be really proud of and genuinely invest in your relationships both professionally and personally. Prioritise balance, especially if you’re highly ambitious – I can speak from personal experience here.
And lastly I’d say to find joy in what you do. You need to lean into strengths and learn what it is that you love and if you can do that, you’ll do your best work and you will thrive doing it.
Entries are now open for the 2025 Women in Travel Awards. Whether you’re putting your name forward or championing a colleague, don’t miss this chance to recognise the women in our industry.
➡️ Nominate/enter now and help elevate the voices that matter.
Thursday, 2 October 2025 – On-time entries close
Thursday, 9 October 2025 – Late entries close
Wednesday, 5 November 2025 – Finalists announced
Wednesday, 3 December 2025 – Awards night
