Women in Travel: It's Helloworld's Cinzia Burnes!

We chat with Cinzia Burnes, Helloworld Executive Director on why women in particular excel in the travel industry, having an open door policy and what she thinks the key to success is, in conjunction with the inaugural Women in Travel Awards in November.

I started in travel in 1982 in Italy by taking an unpaid job at the Italy Australia Association when I left school. The Italy Australia Association was selling tickets to Italians who had relatives that had migrated to Australia and they soon realised there was a lot more to do than just come and visit their relations. So I got involved in travel and involved in Australia by default.

It is difficult to join our industry unless you like travel and I really like putting together itineraries for people. While I don’t do it very often anymore, I used to love it.

I think travel is well suited to people with strong attention to detail – and maybe this is controversial – but I believe women do excel in these areas. They might have a slight edge over men in that regard.

I also believe that you need to have an open rapport with your colleagues and your team (some might say mine is a very straightforward approach, because that is the type of person I am) but I expect exactly the same back.

I have an open door policy to encourage interaction and communication as much as possible.

I choose authenticity over perfection. In an ideal world however, you can strive for both.

The key for me really is to enjoy what you do for your work and have a bit of fun doing it as well. I like to switch off from the office by heading to our farm where I enjoy gardening, cooking and playing with the dogs. And of course it’s important to spend social time with friends.

The best possible advice I can give to women in the industry is to be confident and have courage. Go for the promotion and be the best person for the job.

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!

To enter:

1. Register free at www.womenintravel.com.au/awards

2. Choose a category (View criteria for each of the 18 categories here: women-in-travel-criteria-categories)

3. Submit by Friday 14 October

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.