Hailey Brown

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Vacayit
Brisbane

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With a double degree in Psychology and International Hotel and Tourism Management, Hailey is a young entrepreneur who is an advocate for innovation and accessibility in the tourism industry.

Whilst studying at university, Hailey pursued many opportunities to develop experience in the tourism industry by a range of internships including Marketing and Strategy Intern with Tourism Australia, Brand and Marketing Intern (Asia and Americas) with Discova and Event Management and Membership Intern with the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

In 2020, Hailey became the Founder and CEO of Vacayit – a storytelling platform for blind and low vision tourists that allows them to independently choose where they want to travel. The app features audio-rich stories and soundscapes, industry and operator supplied experiences, community content and reviews and voice assisted integration. In this role, Hailey works with regional, state and national tourism organisations around the world to develop content so that blind and low vision tourists can engage with the stories and sounds from different destinations to decide where they would like to visit.

In 2021, Hailey travelled to Switzerland to pitch Vacayit at the finals of the World Tourism Forum’s Young Talent Program winning first place in the Innovation category.