I don’t cry in public, like ever. And suddenly in front of 500 people I start bawling.

June 14, 2026 Traveller Times

I…won an award –Beth Santos

If you were at #WITSChatt you would have experienced my utter surprise when, on the last day of our conference, Youmie Jean Francois took the stage by storm and presented me with a beautiful crystal award from The Flex-N-Fly Foundation. She then proceeded to talk on and on about the impact that I had made for women travelers and travel content creators, and asked everyone to give me a standing ovation. Which they did.

I don’t cry in public, like ever. And suddenly in front of 500 people I start bawling.

Apparently, Youmie had been waiting a long time to give me that award. When I was recognized by the foundation in 2023 with the Advocacy Award, I wasn’t able to make it to New York for the event. It was our busiest weekend of the year at the cafe during a massive neighborhood festival called Wake Up The Earth. She held onto it, only to bring it to Chattanooga and surprise me with it on stage on the last day of the conference.

The funny and full-circle moment of all of this is that I had actually done the exact same thing for HER the night before — when I surprised HER on stage with a crystal Wanderful award during the Bessies.

It turns out, we had both planned to surprise each other with crystal awards on stage at WITS this year. And we both ended up very surprised, indeed! Isn’t it amazing how the world works sometimes?

Here’s what it says on my award:

“The 2023 Recipient of The Flex Summit Advocacy Award – Beth Santos, Founder of Wanderful. In recognition of your visionary leadership and tireless commitment to elevating women travelers around the world. As Founder of Wanderful, you’ve built a global sisterhood with 50+ city chapters and powerful events like the WITS Summit and Wanderfest. Your work furthers equity, connection, and belonging in travel. You inspire women to travel boldly, connect meaningfully, and transform the travel industry. Thank you for all that you do.”

💙 💙 💙

#TravelIndustry#TravelAwards#Advocacy#DEI#WomenWhoTravel