Around 50 participants discuss strategies, results and approaches from the "Move for Female Transformation" project in Berlin * Katrin Göring-Eckardt offers a view beyond the horizon into politics

The second Female Leaders Lunch of the tourism industry took place in Berlin on 20 November 2024. After the kick-off in April, the second edition of the networking event was also a great success: once again, around 50 successful female managers and young professionals from various areas of the industry discussed strategies and ideas for more equal opportunities for women in the tourism industry and took the opportunity to expand their network. Prominent guest speaker was Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Vice President of the German Bundestag, who spoke with Songül Göktas-Rosati (Managing Director Bentour Reisen) about the challenges she has faced in the course of her career and possible political and social solutions.

During the fully booked lunch, results and findings from the coaching and empowerment workshops that had taken place over the summer in companies in the industry on the one hand and with interested female colleagues on the other were also presented. Results from a case study with B&B Hotels were also presented. All participants of the Female Leaders Lunch also received a "workbook" compiled as part of the overall project, in which the project partners compiled their experiences of the year as a basis for further approaches to this important topic.

The Female Leaders Lunches, the case study and the workshops are all part of the "Move for Female Transformation (MoFeT)" project, which was launched at the beginning of 2024. The aim of the project is to permanently improve career and promotion opportunities for women in the tourism industry, increase equal opportunities for women in the industry and also counteract the shortage of skilled labour in the tourism industry. The project is being organised by the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), with B&B Hotels and the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) as project partners. The project is being supported as part of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection's "LIFT Transformation" (Performance Improvement and Innovation Promotion in Tourism) funding programme.

"We are very pleased about the great interest in this topic and network and that our second Female Leaders Lunch was booked out so quickly," said BTW Secretary General Sven Liebert. "This popularity clearly shows that we have tackled an important topic with the MoFeT project together with our partners. As BTW, we will definitely continue to support and drive this forward. As an umbrella organisation, we want to make a small contribution to further sensitising companies and empowering women to take on management positions."

"It was a great project year with lots of insights and the first helpful approaches for action," adds project manager Prof Dr Claudia Brözel (HNEE). "However, we still have a long way to go, as this year has clearly shown us. In this respect, we are currently examining ideas on how things can and will continue. My goal remains to further improve career opportunities for women in this diverse tourism industry."

"We are delighted that, as a company, we have been able to contribute to gaining important insights as well as building a network through this project partnership," says Jan Grossmann, Head of People Central & Northern Europe at B&B Hotels. "It is now important to maintain both of these, to continue to promote them in the industry and to expand them so that we can continue to work towards the important goals of the project. And, of course, we also hope that our project partnership and the year's measures will be reflected in more women in management positions at B&B HOTELS."

Note: Further photos of the event can be found linked here

More about the content of the project:

Building on two central levels - creating awareness and imparting know-how - MoFeT aims to empower employees and companies in the form of coaching sessions in various gender constellations, to increase the proportion of women at all hierarchical levels and to raise awareness of gender equality.

A ground-breaking case study with B&B Hotels to develop directly applicable solutions in the hotel industry segment, as well as events and public relations work, round off the project. The public kick-off for the project took place at ITB 2024.

About B&B HOTELS
B&B HOTELS is one of the most important commercial hotel groups in Europe. Founded in Brest in 1990, the group has a network of more than 850 hotels in 17 countries in Europe and Brazil. B&B HOTELS is positioned in the Value for Money sector and aims to offer its customers comfort and quality at the best value for money. Corporate social responsibility is an important issue for the hotel group. In order to meet consumer expectations and ensure the credibility and transparency of measures that have a positive impact on society and the environment, B&B HOTELS has been certified by the independent organisation SOCOTEC in the area of sustainability. B&B Hotels Germany GmbH is a subsidiary of the international hotel group B&B HOTELS. The financially strong group - majority shareholder is the private equity company Goldman Sachs - is planning 400 hotels in Germany and Austria by 2030. B&B HOTELS has been present on the German market since 1998 and is currently represented with over 220 hotels in more than 110 cities.

About the BTW
As the umbrella organisation of the German tourism industry, the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry represents the common and overarching interests of this diverse and strong sector. The tourism industry accounts for around 4 per cent of gross value added in Germany and employs 2.8 million people. In addition, there are 1.3 million people who produce inputs for the production of these goods and services. This means that around 9 per cent of all employees in Germany work directly or indirectly in tourism.

Note on image material
The photos available here may be used for reporting purposes. Please note the copyright notice © Bundesverband der Deutschen Tourismuswirtschaft e.V.