Trip Leads: Empowering travel enthusiasts in Bangladesh
Sabira Mehrin Saba, the CEO and Founder of Wander Woman has launched Trip Leads, the first nationwide tour guide training boot camp in Bangladesh. The project aims to provide guidance and opportunities for travel enthusiasts across the country, addressing the gender disparity and limited prospects in the field. Recognising the transformative potential of Trip Leads, Sabira secured the prestigious EMK Small grant, which serves as a testament to the project’s ability to bring about significant change in the travel industry.
Trip Leads holds tremendous potential for the unemployed youth of Bangladesh, especially considering the country’s growing tourism industry. Currently, around 2.93 million people in Bangladesh are unemployed, facing challenges such as lack of experience and limited job vacancies. Many startups require at least a year of experience, making it difficult for students and recent graduates to find full-time employment.
Trip Leads holds tremendous potential for the unemployed youth of Bangladesh, especially considering the country’s growing tourism industry
Trip Leads provides an opportunity for them to work as part-time tour guides, even on weekends, enabling them to gain valuable skills in tour leading, hospitality management, crisis management, and event coordination—skills directly relevant to the expanding tourism sector. This not only creates job opportunities but also fosters a sense of pride in showcasing their own country to foreigners, contributing to Bangladesh’s economic and cultural development. Additionally, working as tour guides allows these individuals to expand their professional networks and refine their communication skills, which are essential for effective engagement with diverse audiences. Certification as a tour guide further validates their abilities and enhances their prospects in the job market.
CEO and Founder
Wander Woman
After months of meticulous planning, Sabira and her team established partnerships with university clubs, youth organisations, and collaborators across different districts of Bangladesh. The goal was to raise awareness among the country’s enthusiastic travel enthusiasts who often faced limited avenues to pursue their dreams of exploration. Trip Leads will organise boot camps in five key districts: Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, and Khulna. The sessions in Dhaka will be held at the esteemed EMK centre and Moar, a renowned co-working space, while Brac Learning centres will support the sessions outside Dhaka. At the end of each boot camp session, participants will receive a certificate acknowledging their completion of the comprehensive training program. They will then embark on shadow-leading assignments to gain practical experience and reinforce their learning.
Trip Leads aims to train a minimum of 200 tour guides, cultivating a pool of exceptional trip leaders who will play a vital role in propelling the growth of Bangladesh’s tourism sector
Upon successfully completing the shadow leading assignments, participants will earn the esteemed title of professional tour guide. With their newfound knowledge and confidence, they will be encouraged to apply their skills not only within Wander Woman but also across various other travel agencies. Trip Leads aims to train a minimum of 200 tour guides, cultivating a pool of exceptional trip leaders who will play a vital role in propelling the growth of Bangladesh’s tourism sector.
Trip Leads represents a groundbreaking initiative to break barriers and reshape the tourism landscape in Bangladesh. Through its comprehensive training, empowering opportunities, and commitment to gender equality, this visionary project promises to have a lasting impact on the lives of countless travel enthusiasts while propelling the nation’s tourism industry to unprecedented heights. Sabira is spearheading a revolution through Trip Leads, inspiring a new generation of explorers, fostering cultural unity, and showcasing the beauty of Bangladesh to the world.
Photographs: Courtesy of Wander Woman