Women in Travel: It's Contiki's Vanessa Stavrou

We chat with Vanessa Stavrou, Head of Marketing, Contiki about the importance of travel, being authentic and going on an e-tox, in conjunction with the inaugural Women in Travel Awards in November.

I used to work in investment banking running large scale projects, however I didn’t find it as fulfilling as I knew I should have. I quickly realised I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life marketing superannuation so I decided to move to travel to make a difference. I believe travel makes us all better humans.

Working in marketing you tend to find yourself in teams with a higher proportion of females. I’d like to think this is because this role requires empathy, an emotion commonly associated with our gender. Travel is all about making connections with people and the world around us. Selling them a dream requires empathy, creativity and insight – women rock at this.

In terms of leadership, I was in a meeting recently where someone said “there is no failure there is only learning”.

I like how eloquently it was phrased and it captures how I like to lead. I am passionate, crazy, and emotionally invested in the company I work for and my team. Authenticity is the core of great leadership and I balance that with a genuine desire to see my team exceed and be the best they can be.

Away from work, I recently took a long weekend e-tox – four days with no email – it was amazing how energised I felt. I try and do that at least twice a year, the next being at Christmas time when I head to Patagonia to do the W Trek.

To women starting out, I would say be bold, put your hand up and ask for help – it’s the best way to learn. The travel industry is an industry that recognises hard work, so get stuck in. I’ve worked hard my whole career and had great leaders recognise my investment and they have helped develop me along the way.

Travel Weekly is proud to present the inaugural Women in Travel Awards in Sydney on 17 November, and are calling on women from any level across the industry to enter.

You don’t have to be nominated to enter, it’s open to all women at any level, and entries are FREE. ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER!

View criteria for each of the 18 categories here: women-in-travel-criteria-categories

Or, if you know or work with any exceptional Women in Travel, be proactive and acknowledge excellence in their field by nominating them to enter.