Kalukanda House Founder Dee Gibson Wins “Woman Leader in Hospitality” Award
What a moment in 2025 to be named “Woman Leader in Hospitality” at the International Women in Travel and Tourism Awards 2025 — a prestigious accolade from the social enterprise Women in Travel CIC. The award was given for a number of reasons, projects that we have started at Kalukanda House because we want to show what soulful travel means to us. How do we define “luxury” ? We blend cultural exchange with social impact in Sri Lanka in our design led property.
Being the winner in this category is a needle shifting moment for me, my team and my business. We have proven that grass roots efforts where innovative ideas incubate do in fact create meaningful impact. We have worked hard to build a business with people at the core. In an increasingly divided world, travel is the key that promotes kinship across cultures and shows the truth of other lands. Bringing travellers and locals together with a circular economy in mind serves us well, and I am grateful that the judges recognised our efforts, thank you. I was honoured to be in a room of colleagues who were nominees and finalists in the IWTTF 2025 Awards from around the world, if we can join the dots between us, we will collectively show ‘how’ travel is a vital force for good and global harmony.
Why we Won
Support local suppliers and female creative entrepreneurs
Since launching Kalukanda House, we have been connecting guests with authentic Sri Lankan culture, and championing local creatives, artisans, and female entrepreneurs through initiatives like The HERA Project X. In 2023, I launched this initiative with a 3 day event where female Sri Lankan entrepreneurs from the worlds of fashion, art, textiles, photography, travel and more were given the stage to share their passion and craft for what they do. We never hear from the people of a place, and I am surrounded by incredible innovators, so I invited them to share what they do, giving them sole focus – something they told me had never been done before.
During this 3 day event, 100% sponsored by Kalukanda House, we heard from trailblazing women who are setting new standards in social entrepreneurship while innovating beautiful products. The audience of locals, travellers and ex pats were wowed by the breadth and depth of creativity, and the event led to further collaborative projects that took our discussion ideas and turned them into reality, all of them being positive activists to open progress and opportunities in Sri Lanka.
The group exists in the diaspora too, and UK female entrepreneurs are collaborating and creating events that explore their heritage and share what they love about Sri Lanka with others.
Advocate for Women in Hospitality
The Women in Travel Collective (bringing women in hospitality together and creating programs for professional and social advancement) was one such project whose seed was borne at the event. I am proud to be a co-founder with Irstel Jansen, Thushni de Silva, Andrea Goonesekara and Dinushka Chandrasena. You can read about the Female Guide Training programs on the Pekoe Trail and inspiring members evenings held regularly in Colombo here
Contribute to Thought Leadership
The art of trying and failing, I have learnt that it is not always easy to bring about change. Collaboration and supporting those who have bigger platforms to highlight our own projects creates a bigger change than toiling away on our own. The 2023 event was so successful it created further ripple effects. The summary was used as a case study by the University of Surrey ‘Gender Entrepreneurship and Social Policy Institute’ (GeSPi) and further included in a book by Caroline Bremner of Euromonitor on “Future Proofing Travel”, buy a copy from Amazon or other sources here
You can read the GeSPi study GESPi Case Study Dee Gibson
Following this, it was wonderful to be invited to share our projects and thinking at the Scottish Tourism Alliance Signature Conference in 2025 as a keynote speaker on the “Art of Hospitality”. Standing in a room of over 400 Scottish Tourism professionals and sharing the similarities between our national opportunities and challenges in travel was a highlight this year. What we are doing at Kalukanda House ~ engaging guests with locals and local life, thinking of “travel” vs “tourism” – this is our underlying mission. We work with local suppliers to bring you to experience these artisans at work, 100% of experiences booked through Kalukanda House directly benefit local suppliers.
Sharing about Sri Lankan Entrepreneurs and Innovations with our guests
Travel is the only way to see the humanity and beauty in the world first hand and we strive to share that with our guests and supporters , whether you stay with us or simply want to find out about the truth of Sri Lanka and her history it is through the people in our midst. You can find out more through our podcast “Sri Lanka: Modern Perspectives from an Ancient Melting Pot” found on Spotify / Apple and other podcast platforms and the posts found in our blog pages.
Social Impact
In 2025 I took on the role of Chair of a Sri Lankan charity, you can read more about them here Their Future Today
The work that has been done by the team since launch in 2004 has been nothing short of breathtaking, and we are on the cusp of working with Government and United Nations to bring in a pilot foster care program. Guests are warmly welcome to contact us about visiting the charity projects or volunteering time. Donations are made from guest bookings towards TFT in order to help support their work – we invite you to read about them and consider a monthly donation, the equivalent of a cup of coffee and a croissant – this makes all the difference. These donations support families, provide education and create opportunities for those caught below the poverty line. Link here
We have also employed 100% local teams and maintained a full staff through the toughest of times with pandemic, no loans or furlough were available in Sri Lanka. On the island, it is common that someone will work to support large families including multiple generations. We retained all our staff and employed a local grandfather who lost his arm in a fishing accident, ensuring he has tasks he can take on in the garden in order to give him an income.
Words from the Awards
As my name was read out on the evening as the winner in this category, the summary was that “the judges praised Dee’s commitment to the full spectrum of intersectionality in her pursuit of equity for women in her region,” adding:
“Dee is the epitome of someone making a real difference and impact on a local, national and global level. She is a global role model, inspiring the next generation of women and diverse people to follow her lead.” — Stuart W. Greif, Forbes Travel Guide & IWTTF Judge
Judges included leaders from across the industry, from brand names such as Not in the Guide Books and Diamond Air International to UK travel industry companies such as FINN Partners, the Travel Connection Group and Atkin Jones Ltd, media representatives such as Skift and Forbes and recruitment companies such as Gail Kenny and Antella Recruitment. Reflecting Women in Travel CIC’s work championing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Female Leadership, and Allyship, the award categories recognised both businesses and individuals for their awareness, achievements, initiatives and progress in the DEI space.
Alessandra LoTufo Alonso, Founder and Managing Director of Women in Travel CIC and IWTTF said: “Every year of the IWTTF Awards I am increasingly impressed with the quality and variety of the nominations, and I am so proud to recognise and celebrate all of our deserving winners and finalists. Many of our winners are unsung heroes and change- makers in the DEI space, whose work is often under-valued or under-recognised and yet is having real impact. In the spirit of Women in Travel CIC, we are shining a light on this great work, as it is more vital than ever for us to celebrate every step that brings us closer to a more inclusive, equitable and diverse industry.”
Stay with us
Kalukanda House continues to grow as a design-led coastal retreat offering bespoke wellness, creative and cultural experiences — just steps from Weligama’s surf beach. If you are interested in what we do and combining a trip to Sri Lanka with soulful immersion in more than the usual ways, please reach out on stay@kalukandahouse.com
We have more plans and collaborations on the way to share with you.
