On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2020. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Iris ↗
In their words
It's so nice to see so many familiar faces from all over North America and all over the world. It's really such a treat to have this expand beyond just Toronto.
It goes without saying that this pandemic has triggered a global loss of trust on multiple levels throughout the consumer travel journey, from how things were handled on a basic health and safety level in people's own countries to questioning how safe the travel infrastructure is in general.
We've seen a lot of videos of previously overrun famous sites like Angkor Wat with just a few tourists. Do you agree that this is an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild tourism in the right way and avoid our mistakes of the past?
Around the web ×3
Quick answers
Who is Iris Serbanescu?
A Toronto travel-industry partnerships specialist turned founder. PAX News (2022-03-08) described her as Toronto-based with about a decade in tourism, consulting for ventures in the adventure, luxury and tech sectors, and a past director of partnerships at TourRadar and manager of trade development at Bannikin. Her 2026 International Women in Travel & Tourism Forum speaker bio says she has spent about 12 years in partnership development and is based in Toronto, her hometown, after living in Paris, Prague and Barcelona.
What is wmnsWORK?
A tourism business accelerator for women and non-binary entrepreneurs, announced on International Women's Day 2022 with a first 12-week virtual cohort starting May 16, 2022, priced at US$2,500 and capped at 10 participants (PAX News, 2022-03-08). AdventureTravelNews reported in February 2024 that it had supported more than 40 businesses from 14 countries; her IWTTF 2026 bio puts the total at 67 entrepreneurs. The program's own site now describes a six-month format and lists TourRadar, Intrepid Travel, Explore Worldwide, the IGLTA Foundation, Rokitplace and the UnTours Foundation as 2026 scholarship sponsors.
What did she do at TourRadar?
She joined TourRadar, the multi-day tour marketplace, as director of partnerships in January 2019, based in its Toronto office and responsible for growing strategic partnerships globally, after serving as manager of trade development at Bannikin Travel & Tourism (AdventureTravelNews member news, 2019-03-18). The Soul of Travel podcast (2022-09-21) says she established and headed TourRadar's partnerships department. On the TechTO stream (0:32) she introduced herself as director of partnerships at TourRadar.
Has Iris Serbanescu spoken at TechTO?
Once. On May 4, 2020, during the pandemic shutdown, she hosted a TechTO virtual session interviewing Malia Asfour, then director of Jordan Tourism Board's North American office, on how destinations could rebuild trust and reopen international travel. She was representing TourRadar at the time; wmnsWORK did not yet exist.