- Women’s leadership in tourism discussed at ITB Berlin
- The panel focused on barriers inside large travel companies
- Experts say stereotypes still shape career paths
- Advice includes networking, visibility, and confidence
- Industry is still debating problems known for decades
The travel industry once again gathered to discuss a topic it never seems to finish discussing: why women still have to explain how to become leaders in an industry that publicly claims to support equality.
At ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest tourism fairs, a panel titled Mut, Macht & Macherinnen: Female Leadership im Tourismus brought together executives, researchers, and consultants to discuss the obstacles women face when seeking to advance into management positions.
The discussion was thoughtful, experienced, and familiar. Very familiar.
Leadership Advice Women Have Heard for Years
Katrin Rieger, sales director in the travel insurance sector and a manager for nearly two decades, spoke about the kind of feedback many women still receive when they step into leadership roles.
“You are too nice” is a comment she has heard repeatedly, a reminder that leadership is often expected to look a certain way — and that way is not always associated with cooperation or calm decision-making.
Rieger argued that authority need not always be loud, and that leadership can succeed without adopting the most dominant style in the room. In practice, however, expectations do not always change as quickly as conference panels do.
Research presented during the discussion addressed what academics call role congruence theory, a concept that describes the tension between traditional ideas of femininity and the stereotypical image of a strong leader. In simple terms, women are often expected to be both agreeable and decisive at the same time — and criticized when they fail at either.
It is a paradox the industry knows well.
It is also one that keeps rediscovering.
The Dominance Dilemma Is Still Alive in Tourism
Lisa-Marie Küchler, who studied gender-equal leadership in tourism, noted that stereotypes remain deeply rooted even in modern workplaces. Women who lead quietly risk being seen as weak, while women who speak loudly risk being labeled difficult.
Maren Merken, founder of a communications agency working with tourism companies, described the same pattern from practical experience. Assertiveness, she said, is often interpreted differently depending on who shows it.
Her advice was not revolutionary, but realistic:
- accept uncertainty;
- do not wait for approval;
- allow yourself to learn while doing.
In other words, the same rules many professionals follow already, whether the conference panel confirms them or not.
Networking, Confidence, Visibility — the Standard Recipe
The discussion also produced the usual recommendations for young professionals entering the tourism industry:
- build networks early;
- make your work visible;
- stop overthinking decisions;
- apply even if you are not fully ready;
- ask companies for flexible working models.
Katrin Rieger encouraged women to trust their abilities sooner, noting that hesitation often slows careers more than a lack of skill.
Küchler added that companies also carry responsibility, especially during recruitment. Hiring processes that demand a narrow profile tend to reproduce the same leadership structures again and again, even when the industry claims to want diversity.
There is also a financial argument, frequently repeated but still effective: diverse teams often perform better. The fact that this still needs to be explained at major tourism events suggests the conversation is far from over.
A Familiar Debate on a Global Stage
The setting for this discussion was not a small seminar, but the world’s largest tourism trade show. When topics like leadership equality appear there, it shows the issue has moved from academic papers into the core of the industry. The tone of the panel reflected something else: the sense that progress exists, but slowly, unevenly, and sometimes in circles.
Every few years, the same questions return:
- Why are there fewer women in top positions?
- Why do stereotypes still matter?
- Why is confidence still treated differently depending on who shows it?
And every few years, the answers sound slightly updated, but not entirely new. The discussion in Berlin did not produce a miracle solution. What it did show is that tourism, like many global industries, is still learning how to match its public image of openness with the reality inside boardrooms. That process, unlike the conference schedule, does not end after one panel.
