Women are now beginning to participate more in the tourism industry. According to a survey, women’s involvement in the ownership and management of tourism businesses has skyrocketed worldwide, particularly in developed nations like the United States and the European Union.
Ivonne Zumarraga has more than 17 years of experience in the tourism industry. Prior to earning her degree in administration, she started her career working in operations, reservations, sales, and as a supervisor of tour operators before moving up to her current position as Managing Director of Golden Galapagos. She has held a variety of positions, equipping her with the expertise necessary to lead a close-knit team of professionals based on her understanding of what organizations and teams must do to consistently reach their goals.
Currently, Ivonne works for a marketer and operator of next-generation luxury vessels in the Galapagos Islands, gaining more knowledge in areas such as B2B sales and marketing of exclusive luxury services.
A Choice that Became a Passion for Life
Ivonne’s start in the travel and tourism sector is an interesting coincidence. After she finished high school, she had to decide on a undergraduate program at university. She was uncertain about what career field she wanted to pursue. Her parents thought that she would study a degree in architecture or engineering since she excelled in math, physics, and technical drawing in school. Ivonne was unsure about that, though, so she spoke to her mother about how she had chosen to take a year off and how her mother had “basically gone mad.” Her mother said “you’re going to study even if it is only tourism” and took Ivonne to the university and helped her do all of the paperwork. That led Ivonne down the path towards tourism, which became her undying passion.
In the final year of her undergraduate program, one of Ivonne’s friends in the industry told her to apply for a job in sales in one of the largest DMCs in Ecuador, where she met Luisa – Ivonne’s current business partner. The pair decided to forge a new path with their own company after working together for 12 years. Ivonne states, “I have to say that I learned a lot from Luisa and all of my colleagues during those 12 years, but I was afraid of the challenge of managing an exclusive luxury cruise operator in the Galapagos.”
The Company
Golden Galapagos started as a dream of being the most important luxury Galapagos cruise operator. The main idea behind the concept of the company was re-inventing luxury in the Galapagos. The Endemic was the firm’s first project; a vessel that the team designed from the ground up. Ivonne says, “we carefully collected all of the experience of a whole team: past guests, marketing impressions, sales and commercial needs, comments from crew members and naturalist guides, etc.” She continues by saying that the fact that Luisa and she launched the initiative together as a team is the key to the business’ success, and is a distinct advantage. They undertook a project that stood in sharp contrast to the luxurious lodging experiences in the Galapagos Islands after learning to listen to every team member.
When Luisa and Ivonne began work on their first ship -the Endemic- they had no idea how quickly they would become involved in a second one.
Ivonne recalls, “Less than a year after, we took on a second project -the Elite- which is also a vessel designed from scratch by us.”
When the pandemic hit a few years later, Luisa and Ivonne received a request to partner with a third vessel. It was difficult to decide because the two were already dealing with the challenges brought on by the pandemic, but it was unquestionably a tremendous opportunity. Although it wasn’t a brand-new vessel, it was one that was well-known in the business. Luisa and Ivonne are businesswomen, but they also like to take chances. As part of their cooperation with the Ocean Spray, the third vessel of the burgeoning Golden Galapagos fleet, they performed a significant dry dock on it to add their signature Golden Touch, which was just as successful as it was for the Endemic and the Elite.
At the end of June of this year, Luisa and Ivonne partnered with a fourth vessel. While not built from the ground up by Golden Galapagos, the luxurious Petrel is joining the Golden Galapagos fleet as of December 2022, and the company’s partners will work hard aboard the vessel to add its signature Golden Touch once again. Ivonne confidently states, “we will be operating and selling cruises aboard the Petrel starting in December this year.”
Managing Director of Golden Galapagos
At Golden Galapagos, Ivonne’s primary responsibility is to constantly develop new strategies to keep the company and its vessels at the top-of-mind of its clients. Despite being in command of the entire business, she divides the duties with her partner. Luisa is more concerned with how the ships are being run and her interactions with the ship partners, while Ivonne focuses her efforts more on sales and marketing tactics, so she works with the rest of her team to implement different campaigns to make sure the business meets its objectives. “We are committed to being the best luxury cruise operator in the Galapagos Islands,” she remarks.
As a director, Ivonne believes that it’s extremely important to encourage all of her team members to develop individual skills and promote independent judgment so they can be part of the decisions made in support of the company’s objectives. She strongly believes that the success of the company and its most important added value is teamwork. She loves a phrase that she always uses in her training:
“Alone you can do so little; together we can do so much.” -Hellen Keller
A Loving Mom and a Focused Leader
The morning and evening are Ivonne’s favorite times of the day since she gets to spend time with her partner and her 3-year-old child. She struggles personally to maintain a balance between her personal and professional life, and sees herself as an dedicated worker.
Ivonne used to work more than 12 hours a day, but now that she has a family, she enjoys spending time with her son Julian and her partner, Santiago, after business hours. While she doesn’t leave her professional duties unattended, Ivonne maintains a healthy balance in her life.
She says, “I love my work, and it’s really easy to lose track of time while I’m doing what I love, but what I love the most is my family, so I have to prioritize our time together. I try to organize my work better, and I love to delegate responsibilities to my team.”
Traveling and connecting with the company’s clients is what Ivonne is most enthusiastic about, but it is also the hardest part of her personal life because it means that she has to leave her baby and her partner for extended periods of time. She is, however, grateful to her boyfriend Santiago. He is very supportive of Ivonne, and is dedicated to caring for their son – not just when she is away but also on a daily basis. She adds, “He’s definitely the best father, and is my partner in crime.”
Advice for Next-Generation Female Leaders
Ivonne has put a lot of effort into becoming who she is and where she is in the tourism industry, as it is one of the few industries where women hold leadership positions. Despite this, she doesn’t see any of the difficulties she has encountered as obstacles, but rather as opportunities to improve as both a leader and a professional.
Ivonne’s advice to emerging women leaders is to always be grateful and humble. Self-worth, self-confidence, self-trust, and autonomy follow after that. She believes that once someone can manage their own life, they can manage their family and work team, as well.
Ivonne also suggests women leaders plan their own days in such a way that one can learn something new every single day, even if it is only a “new word in English.” She finds that small steps can lead to big changes in anyone’s life.
Website: www.goldengalapagoscruises.com
