Jaklien van Melick

Originally from the Netherlands, Jaklien has worked in the tourism sector for 25 years, during which time she has lived and travelled extensively across the globe. Alongside her work with Equality in Tourism, she is an independent tourism consultant, leading and supporting projects for organisations including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and UN Tourism, with a particular focus on sustainable tourism, destination development and digital transformation.

She has worked across a range of international private, public and non-profit organisations, giving her a broad and practical understanding of the tourism sector. She started her career in tourism as a holiday representative for an inbound tour operator in New York City and went on to work in customer service, airline pricing and business development for two airlines. She later held roles in content marketing and content production for TripAdvisor and two outbound tour operators, before moving into destination development and marketing with the Austrian National Tourist Office and UN Tourism.

Her passion for travel and sustainable tourism is what brought her to Equality in Tourism, where she volunteers in a range of roles. She manages the Associates Network, contributes to research and creating reports, and supports a variety of other projects and activities as needed. She believes that gender equality is fundamental to creating a more sustainable and inclusive tourism industry and is committed to helping drive that change through her work with Equality in Tourism.