The Adventure Angels spawned from the ATTA community. Its ranks are diverse with female tour operators, writers, travel agents, photographers and outfitters, who aim to cultivate meaningful relationships and mindful connections. Their goal is not only to explore the world but to connect with other women travelers and business owners and help them leap, discover and inspire.
The Adventure Angels believe that women are tremendous, untapped investments that yield huge returns for entire communities and they want to assist women to have sustainable livelihoods by helping them develop their communication skills, self-confidence and fuel their motivation. Once women realize that they are powerful and can create and follow their own visions for their lives, they rise and energize others to do the same.
“Women throughout the world are accustomed to being told what kind of life they should dream of and what kind of future they can expect for themselves,” said Adventure Angel Gaby de Vega. “When women entrepreneurs from different regions share knowledge and experiences, they help establish approaches to overcome these challenges.”
That’s why the Adventure Angels are providing a scholarship for this year’s Adventure Travel World Summit to support a woman-owned adventure business based in an emerging market country.
"Revolution was what we asked delegates to pursue last fall in Puerto Varas, Chile -- revolution to help change the world for the better through adventure travel,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “The Adventure Angels answered that call by creating an opportunity for a woman-owned business in an emerging destination to have a chance to catapult their business.”
The scholarship is a way of removing a limit for a female business owner from an emerging nation. Interconnecting with one another around the globe is a vivid way to gain support and encouragement, exchange ideas, and expand businesses. The vision is to propel women-owned travel companies and the goal is to empower globally engaged professionals to become financially viable and contribute to the economic growth of their communities. Women in any culture relish the freedom to experience new things.
“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises,” said Judy Karwacki, chair of the Adventure Angels’ Abundance Scholarship committee. “The scholarship is the beginning of a pathway of opportunities to initiate change. By giving our peers the gift of flight and the chance to join leaders in adventure travel at the Summit we are contributing to the revolution.”
The Adventure Angels will also provide resources that help women travel safely, affordably and adventurously. “Travel is incredibly transformative and really works to reaffirm your faith in yourself and your own personal strength,” said Dana Johnson, Adventure Angels President. “We think it's important that more women travel, so that they can push themselves through an array of incredible experiences.”
Eligible applicants should submit the Adventure Angels Abundance Scholarship Application Form by May 19, 2016, to be considered.