The Most Powerful Women in Travel in 2026

In 2026 it can feel hard, if not impossible, to make sense of the pace at which our world is changing—politically, environmentally, socially. While travel can be a respite from doomscrolling through the chaos of modern life, it can also be a lens through which to understand it all better or even a tool with which to enact change. Over the past year the work of a select few women has felt particularly prescient in this regard, and can be seen throughout this latest edition of Condé Nast Traveler’s Women Who Travel Power List, which honors the musicians, hoteliers, activists, designers, filmmakers, and more who are shaping the way we all choose to move around this shared planet—and doing so with unwavering levels of determination, strength, and brilliance. Take WNBA player Napheesa Collier, for example, just one of several athletes we highlight below, who is leveraging the growing interest in women’s sports to call for greater financial equity and support for players. Or the Pulitzer Prize–winning author Louise Erdrich, who has created an inclusive community through her Minneapolis bookstore, Birchbark Books, where she provides a platform for the nation’s flourishing Ind