Travel has a lot to offer. It is the world’s largest industry and growing faster than many other industries. And yet it consistently falls short on its largest demographic: women.

Women make 80% of travel decisions. 2 out of every 3 travelers are female. 11% of the entire travel market is occupied by the solo female traveler. And yet, women’s travel is consistently considered a niche in the travel industry, which fails to consider real concerns women face when traveling, especially alone: cultural nuances and gender norms, safety, the female body.

Beth Santos is an author, storyteller, and keynote speaker on a mission to better connect and support women travelers and share the stories of diverse women worldwide.

Beth isn’t just making travel easier for women. She’s changing the way the entire travel industry operates.

About Beth

With a background in international development, thoughtful community building and social enterprise, Beth Santos is out to change the landscape of travel for women worldwide.

In 2009, while cruising her blue motorcycle through the streets of São Tomé and Príncipe, Beth created the first iteration of Wanderful as a travel blog aimed to explore the diverse and shared experiences of women traveling the world. Today, Wanderful has exploded to an international community and social network with the active participation of over 40,000 women and gender-diverse people of all ages and backgrounds. This is manifested through an active membership community, chapter events in over 50 global cities worldwide, and annual community events and trips.

Author and Storyteller

Beth is the author of Wander Woman: How to Reclaim Your Space, Find Your Voice, and Travel the World, Solo, published in March 2024. The book helps women to uncover the confidence they need to see the world for themselves, by themselves. With her help, readers will build lifelong tools to challenge their preconceptions, try something new, and get out of their comfort zone—whether that’s halfway around the world or just down the street.

In 2022, she launched the 85 Percent Podcast, which interviews accomplished women in travel and tourism and tells their stories of success — and their advice for a more inclusive travel industry.

Beth is in the process of filming episodes of World Herstory, a travel docuseries highlighting food, culture, and history through the eyes of women around the world.

She is an accomplished storyteller, a passionate speaker, and a creative entrepreneur dedicated to lifting women’s voices and stories worldwide.

Entrepreneur + Creator

While Wanderful was initially created as a travel blog, it has become a powerful network for women worldwide, a resource for travel content creators starting their businesses, and an advocate for a more inclusive and equitable travel industry. The company operates an ecosystem of consumers, content creators and travel brands to help shift the travel landscape for women worldwide.

Wanderful’s success has attracted partnerships with dozens of well-known travel and lifestyle brands, including Tripadvisor, Schwinn, Kiva, Wordpress, Samsonite, Rail Europe, Turkish Airlines, and numerous tourism boards.

In 2014, Beth created the WITS Travel Creator Summit, the leading event for women and gender diverse travel creators, entrepreneurs, and industry to use their voices to champion change in the travel industry, now hosted annually on two continents This event has earned international acclaim and attracted top talent in the travel industry and beyond, leading to the 2019 creation of the Bessie Awards — an award ceremony to honor women of impact in the travel space.

In combatting social inequity and encouraging people to travel thoughtfully, Wanderful is the creator of the Moving Forward Anti-Racism Town Hall for the Travel Industry, recognized in Business Insider and Phocuswire, as well as the first Anti-Oppression Toolkit for Travel + Culture Creators.

In 2022, Wanderful launched Wanderfest, the first major outdoor travel festival by and for women, hailed by Fodor’s Travel as the new festival to add to your radar.

Beth’s commitment to community building also reaches her local neighborhood of Jamaica Plain in Boston, where she and her husband are the owners of Ula Cafe, a social justice-minded cafe, bakery, and lunchtime meeting spot. Ula Cafe has earned recognition in the Boston Globe, Thrillist, and even by brands like Zipcar due to its existence as a woman-owned, Black-owned, veteran-owned and family-owned business with an extensive commitment to LGBTQIA+ rights and an active and beloved Pay it Forward wall, which Beth implemented in 2021.

Beth has been recognized in Business Insider as one of 17 changemakers transforming the hospitality industry, in Conde Nast Traveller as one of 12 inspiring people to follow for International Women’s Day, in TimeOut as one of 10 people shaping the future of Boston, as well as a BostInno 50 on Fire, a Chicago Scholars 35 Under 35 Young Leader Making an Impact, a Zell Fellow (a prestigious fellowship for entrepreneurs pursuing their MBA), and an alumna of the Babson WIN Lab. She was recognized by the Obama Administration as one of the top 100 travel bloggers in the US.

In 2023, Beth was recognized by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Hospitality and Travel, alongside leaders like Airbnb’s Brian Cheskey, Skift’s Rafat Ali, and PBS’ Samantha Brown.

In 2022, she was named Godmother of the Azamara Onward cruise ship and was invited to christen the vessel in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

She has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA from Wellesley College. When she’s not traveling the world, she’s relishing in home renovation projects and exploring her home city of Boston with her family.

BESSIE AWARDS

The Bessie Awards are an acclaimed award show honoring women of impact in the travel industry.

ULA CAFE

Ula Cafe is a social justice- and community-minded cafe and community space in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, acquired by Beth and two co-owners in 2021.