In this edition of Women Shaping the Future of Wellbeing, we spotlight women who are redefining how we heal, grow, and reconnect with ourselves. Among them is Sahara Rose De Vore, Founder and CEO of The Travel Coach Network, a global community reshaping the emotional and human-centric side of travel. After journeying solo to 84 countries and witnessing firsthand the transformative power of meaningful travel, Sahara went on to create the world’s first ICF‑accredited certification for travel coaches, now spanning more than 40 countries. Her work invites us to see travel not as an escape, but as a profound tool for wellbeing, purpose, and personal evolution.
What personal experience or insight inspired you to create this project or company?
I spent ten years traveling solo to 84 countries, having countless conversations that revealed how deeply travel shaped people’s lives. Seeing how the industry treated travel as transactional and ignored its emotional impact, I realized the meaningful career I was looking for didn’t exist—so I created it. That led me to launch my Wellness Travel Coaching business in 2018 and eventually The Travel Coach Network, a global community helping people understand their “why” for travel and use it as a tool for healing, growth, and personal transformation.
What gap or unmet need in the wellbeing space are you addressing?
Travel has always been seen and treated as an escape, getaway, or a vacation, yet decades of research show how important it is to our mental, emotional, physical, social, physiological, and overall well-being. Through Travel Coaching, people can intentionally use travel as a means to reach their wellness goals.
What makes your method, product, or philosophy different from what already exists?
There are health and wellness coaches, life coaches, and travel agents. The Travel Coach Network is the bridge that meshes it all together while putting travel in the forefront of people's transformative and healing journey. Travel Coaching isn't about teaching or telling people to travel. Instead, it's about helping people incorporate different aspects of travel into their lives to help them during whatever stage of life they are in or for whatever their reasons for getting away are.
How do you hope your work will transform women’s lives or the wellbeing landscape?
The Travel Coach Network empowers women (and others) to tap into their own "why" for travel and turn that passion into a meaningful and authentic travel business. So many of us have been transformed or positively impacted by travel in some way. Travel Coaching enables women to empower, inspire, and help others, especially other women, change their own lives through travel. As for the well-being landscape, I aim to shift the narrative that there is wellness and there is travel to one where travel and wellness are one, and travel is seen as an important ingredient in feeling, being, and doing our best in life.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing your vision to life, and what did it teach you?
Creating a new category isn't easy, especially in a very stubborn industry like tourism. Every industry, including travel, changes very slowly. It has taken over six years to gain the traction and recognition that travel coaching truly deserves. This journey has taught me patience, consistency, and clarity.
What rituals, habits, or practices keep you grounded and well?
I start every morning off without looking at my phone or emails. I also have a mantra that I repeat each morning before writing in my gratitude journal.
How do you envision the future of wellbeing, and what role do you hope to play in it?
I see the future of wellbeing being one where travel plays a key role. I see a world where it is common for health and wellness coaches and even medical experts to be Certified Travel Coaches. My role is the visionary, because that's exactly what I have, a big vision for where The Travel Coach Network is going.
Links:
Website: https://thetravelcoachnetwork.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sahararosethetravelcoach/
