Rika Jean-Francois

Head of International Business Relations, Queer Destinations, S.L.

Rika Jean-François, Master of Social Anthropology & Cultural identities, started in tourism as an incoming specialist in Greece. After university and research positions, she was active in the development aid sector. In 2004, Rika started to build up ITB Berlin’s social responsibility engagement as their Head of CSR. She is a passionate speaker at global tourism events, a strong advocate for sustainability, human rights and DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) + spearheaded the LGBTQ+ Travel segment at ITB. Through the years she served on several Boards (PATA, IGLTA &IGLTA Foundation, The Code), is still serving on the Board of GSTC and Roundtable for Human Rights, is jury member for global responsible tourism contests. Since April 2024 she runs her own company, MissionRespo, + is representing Queer Destinations as their Head of International Business Relations.