Green girls - inspiring female travel eco-preneurs from around the world

Green Girls: inspiring female travel eco-preneurs from around the world

To celebrate International Woman's Day, responsibletravel.com today profiles a handful of inspiring female entrepreneurs from the responsible tourism industry. With passionate local knowledge, they run some of the most magical holiday experiences on offer via responsibletravel.com. Hear more about some of the least talked about girls in travel...

Amy, aged 30 - Mozambique beach lodge

• Having had her 'eureka' moment whilst on holiday in Zanzibar, Amy set up this beautiful beach lodge in Mozambique with her husband and through its charitable foundation has had an unprecedented positive impact on the community.
• They have improved school attendance by 350 per cent, provided access to safe drinking water for 15,000 people and supplied over 10,000 women and children with mosquito-nets.
• Amy was awarded the Young Social Entrepreneur of the year in 2006 and since then has been recognised in numerous other awards and also won our very own Responsible Tourism Award for Poverty Reduction in 2009. responsibletravel.com/accommodation/745/mozambique-beach-accommodation
  

• Debbie chucked in her successful IT career in the City in 2000 after an unplanned trip to Cambodia to meet up with some backpacking friends inspired her to set up her company.
• She met Marc in Cambodia and they founded the company together and married in a Buddhist ceremony. They now have two children.
• Their mission is to run a social enterprise that provides work, training and a sense of purpose to local people, while offering travellers the kind of up-close, personal experiences rarely encountered on package tours.
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• After breaking her back in a horse-riding accident, Clare had a rethink about the direction of her life having been a legal academic.
• She moved to Ireland and bought a failed equestrian property tucked away in a remote and unspoiled corner of North Tipperary.
• Clare is a lone parent and has overcome numerous hurdles in her life but now offers holidaymakers the chance to experience a traditional Irish way of life and ride horses in a caring, animal-centred environment.
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• When she was 18, Edinburgh-born Liz bought a £10 boat ticket to Africa and has subsequently lived over half of her life overseas.
• Her company was the first to feature Oman as a destination in 1989 as it opened its doors to tourism.
• She has a strong sense of social responsibility and has seen first-hand how tourism can increase local people’s quality of life.
• Her company is now a closely-knit three-woman team who share their expert knowledge and experiences.
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• After several years of working in Leopard conservation in South Africa and struggling to find funding for much needed research, Carol set up her company with her husband so that tourism could help to fund conservation.
• The company offers something very different – guests enjoy all the luxury that is expected of an African safari, but also get the chance to get involved with the world of conservation. /member/product.asp?member=871

• Whilst volunteering on a coral reef in Tanzania, Louise fell in love with Africa.
• With a background in environmental science she developed holidays which combine the obvious itinerary highlights with more unusual experiences such as home stays and township visits.
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