Celebrating women in the visitor economy

It's International Women's Day on 8 March, a global day celebrating the achievements of women and raising awareness about women's equality. This year's theme is #BreakTheBias, inviting us all to think about ways we can break conscious and unconscious biases about gender. 

We thought it was timely to shine a light on some of the exceptional women leaders in our local region's visitor economy and celebrate what their diverse skills bring to the industry. 

Visitor Attractions & Experiences

Donna Speed, CEO, We The Curious

Donna has worked in visitor economy from the age of 16, initially at Alton Towers then moving to We The Curious (then called At-Bristol Science Centre) in 2000.

“I feel very privileged to lead We The Curious and continue to be so driven by our vision of everyone being included, curious and inspired by science to build a better world together.”

Image - Donna Speed

Alison Bevan, Kathy Curling and Fiona Robinson, Royal West of England Academy (RWA)

The RWA (Royal West of England Academy) – Bristol's original public art gallery – is a visitor attraction with a proud history of gender equality. Founded by professional artist Ellen Sharples in 1844, it pioneered art training for women, had its first woman President in 1911 and is now undertaking a transformational capital project under an all-women leadership team: Director Alison Bevan; Chair of Trustees Kathy Curling, and Academicians' President Fiona Robinson.

Jo Bailey, Owner, Bailey Balloons

Jo and her husband Clive own and operate Bailey Balloons, and have been flying Champagne Hot Air Balloon Flights over Bristol and the South West for 27 years. Jo is one of only a few female commercial hot air balloon pilots in the world, which has led her to fly in many countries and taken part in projects with Sir David Attenborough and Land Rover. Jo and Clive got engaged in a hot air balloon at 8,000 feet over Bath and flew from Thornbury Castle on their wedding day.

Image - Jo Bailey

Holly Tarquini, Producer/Director, Film Bath

Holly Tarquini spent many years as a producer/director of documentaries and factual entertainment television programmes. For the last twelve years she has been FilmBath’s executive director where in 2014 she founded the F-Rating, a feminist film rating highlighting films directed and/or written by women and now used by more than 90 independent cinemas, film festivals and organisations including IMDb, Raindance and The Barbican.

Michelle Michael, Director, The Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare

A qualified commercial lawyer and a director of the Grand Pier since 2008 when it was acquired by her family. Michelle was a member of the management committee of the British Association of Leisure Parks Piers and Attractions and was regularly involved in lobbying parliament to improve trading conditions for tourism businesses across the UK. A trustee of Weston Hospicecare for the last 11 years, Michelle is an avid supporter of this and other local charities. Fundraising is a big part of her pro bono work in the community.

Naomi Miller, Deputy Director, Bristol Ideas

Bristol Ideas is a leading organisation for public debate and learning, bringing together arts and sciences to explore the key issues of our time. Naomi Miller oversees and manages our city projects, which bring together attractions, artists and community organisations from across the city to mark and celebrate aspects of Bristol. In 2021, Naomi also worked closely with Natasha Carthew to produce the first Working Class Writers Festival.

Image - Naomi Miller

Hotels

Sarah Arikan, Owner and General Manager, Berwick Lodge, South Gloucestershire

“I am totally passionate about hospitality, the environment, people, Bristol and of course Berwick Lodge. I love empowering local students with the skills they need, sharing my vision and passion with my Berwick team.”

Nicola Fender, General Manager, The Indigo Hotel, Bath

Nicola Fender is the General Manager of the new 166-bedroom boutique Hotel Indigo Bath.

“As a Bathonian I could not be prouder of the extensive restoration our Grade I listed property into a luxurious, well-designed boutique IHG hotel. Managing a predominately female management team, it is my honour to work with such a passionate, driven and experienced team delivering true hospitality whilst reflecting our local neighbourhood in all we do.”

Food and Drink

Chef Romy Gill, based in South Gloucestershire

Romy is a British/Indian chef, food writer, author and broadcaster. She was the owner and head chef at Romy’s Kitchen. In 2016 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s 90th birthday honours list. Romy is now one of the chefs on the new series of Ready Steady Cook on BBC One. She is a regular on Steph’s Packed Lunch, BBC The One show, BBC Country life, BBC Celebrity MasterChef, The Hairy Bikers’ Comfort Food, James Martin’s Saturday Morning, Sunday Brunch and much more.

Romy is also a regular on BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme. She is the author of ZAIKA – Vegan recipes from India, and regularly contributes to The Telegraph, Sunday Times, BBC Food and international publications, including The New York Times. Romy was invited to speak at the Mad Symposium in 2018 and in 2020 she was invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York. Romy's next book On The Himalayan Trail - Kashmir to Ladakh, is out spring 2022.

Image - Romy Gill

Kelly Sidgwick, Owner, Good Chemistry Brewery and The Good Measure, Bristol.

Kelly Sidgwick set up Good Chemistry Brewing with her partner Bob Cary in 2015 to create good chemistry in its broadest sense – not just in the quality of the beer they produce but using that to celebrate community and relationships across science, the arts, music, sport, food and social experiences, as well as beer and brewing. In 2018 they opened award-winning Redland pub The Good Measure, which now hosts She Drinks Beer, Kelly’s regular evening at the pub for women who enjoy beer, in an effort to break through perceived barriers to this felt by women. IWD is the next instalment of this event.

Ingrid Bates, Owner, Dunleavy Vineyard and Wines

"We’re so lucky in Bristol to have open minded and supportive citizens and the most incredible range of independent food businesses. This unique mix has allowed a fantastic, dynamic food and drink economy to develop on a scale that can’t really be found anywhere else in the UK."

Travel & DMOs

Theresa Mcdermott, Owner, ECT Travel

In 1993, following an executive career in international travel, Theresa Mcdermott started her own company ECT Travel, providing bespoke, special interest travel worldwide.

She is a former president of Bath Chamber of Commerce, Chair of Bath Tourism Plus and served as a director of UK Inbound and Business West. Currently, as well as leading ECT, she is marketing consultant to Thermae Bath Spa and Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel and a director of Visit West.

Theresa is passionate about tourism and helping to grow the wider economy of the West of England.

Kathryn Davis, Director of Tourism, Visit West

Kathryn has been working in the visitor economy for most of her career, including almost 22 years in DMOs in the West of England, delivering projects locally, nationally and internationally. Kathryn remains as passionate about developing and innovating new ways of developing destinations as day one and is proud to support and lead a great team. As well as being a member of the Tourism Industry Council, she is also a non-executive board member of UKInbound and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Image - Kathryn Davis