Antonia Varela, Director of the Starlight Foundation, Named Among Top 501 Tourism Leaders for Positive Impact

For the second consecutive year, Antonia Varela, the director of the Starlight Foundation, has been included in the international list TOP 50+1 Inspirers of Tourism with Positive Impact in Europe and LATAM 2025, promoted by the TuriSOS platform. This recognition highlights leaders who are transforming tourism from ethical, innovative, inclusive, and environmentally friendly perspectives.

Varela appears alongside other personalities from more than 15 different countries and areas of cultural, regenerative, and science-based tourism. They share a common vision: demonstrating that a different kind of tourism is not only possible but also necessary. From her position at the Starlight Foundation, Varela has helped establish astrotourism as a model of sustainable development by integrating science, education, the environment, and culture under the stars.

"The starry sky is an opportunity for sustainable development in rural environments that are experiencing dramatic depopulation. These environments usually have better skies, and the Starlight Foundation works there, helping them become engines of a sustainable economy and equality through astrotourism," Varela said during her participation in the VI Ibero-American Forum on Sustainable Tourism #TuriSOS2025, organized by Málaga es Mundial.

The Starlight Foundation celebrates the distinction of its main representative being included in the TOP 50+1 Inspirers of Tourism with a Positive Impact in Europe and Latin America for another year. This recognition endorses the work that the entity has been promoting for more than 15 years: certifying territories committed to protecting the dark sky, training professionals, advising destinations, and promoting global alliances. These efforts aim to make stargazing an economic and social engine.

TuriSOS, a growing network of influence, is launching this list for the second year with the collaboration of industry experts, specialized media, educational institutions, and international organizations. The objective is to identify and disseminate the work of leaders who generate a real and positive impact on communities through innovative, sustainable, and purposeful proposals. Evaluated criteria include professional trajectory, ethical coherence, social and environmental impact, and the capacity to inspire and effect change. 

This new recognition coincides with a period of significant international recognition for the Starlight Foundation. In October 2025, the foundation will host the VIII International Starlight Meeting in Soria, Spain, and in March 2026, it will hold the inaugural Regional Starlight Meeting in Villa de Leyva, Colombia.

Antonia Varela's inclusion in this TOP 50+1 once again places astrotourism and the defense of the night sky at the center of the conversation about the future of tourism. A future, she argues, that should look more to the stars and less to the spotlights.

Antonia Varela Pérez

Antonia Varela has a Ph.D. in astrophysics and is a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). She is also the president of the Association of Businesswomen, Executives, and Professionals BPW Canarias, as well as the director of the Museum of Science and the Cosmos of Tenerife.

As director of the Starlight Foundation, Varela has promoted astrotourism as a model of sustainable tourism and female empowerment. Additionally, as president of BPW Canarias, she led the SDG18 initiative to make the night sky a sustainable development goal and presented it to the UN. Her research and studies in astrophysics have also been internationally relevant. For example, she published an article in the prestigious journal Science about light pollution and other threats to the night sky.

TOP 50+1 Inspirers of Tourism with Positive Impact in Europe and LATAM 2025

• Tatiana Alemán Selva – Consultora | Ilunion Accesibilidad
• Ana Oliveras (Anouk) – Pionera de los eSports
• Antonia Varela – Directora Fundación Starlight
• Ángel Rielo – Feliciólogo
• Andrés Neuman – Escritor hispano-argentino
• Marina Colunga – CCO Iberia LATAM
• Luis Callejón Suñé – Arquitecto
• David Campano – Country Manager Visit Finland
• Celiana Carreño – Product & Digital Transformation Leader, Globant
• Juan Castro – Jefe de Fútbol Internacional, Diario MARCA
• Virginia Calvo Gómez – Fundadora y COO, Giants Gaming
• Luigi Cabrini – Chairman, Global Sustainable Tourism Council
• Miguel Carrasco Hernández – COO en TUR4all
• Elena Cobos – Consejera delegada, El Pimpi Málaga
• Luis Quero – Director 42 Málaga, Fundación Telefónica
• Fernando Gil – Actor
• Francisca García Moreno – CEO, Hoteles Casa 1800
• Mauricio Giovanini – Chef argentino Michelin, Restaurante Messina
• Josu Gómez Barrutia – Presidente, Asociación Internacional de Startups
• Jaime Hervás – Sustainability and Rooms Division Lecturer, Les Roches
• Mabel Lara – Secretaria de Desarrollo Económico y Turismo de Cali (Colombia)
• Rafael Mesa – CEO, Laberintus Park
• Javier Melero – CEO, Aumentur
• María Jesús Martínez – UMA Historia del Arte
• Marcelo Sanfelice – Director, Argentinos en Málaga
• Diego Pérez Barroso – Director, Hotel Pinzón (Huelva)
• Marina Portabella – Directora, Fundación Valorat
• Felipe Romera – Director General, Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía
• Nuria Rodríguez Cubero – Relaciones Institucionales
• Gemma Rodríguez – Psicóloga, UMA
• José María Montero Sandoval – Director de «Tierra y Mar» y «Espacio Protegido» (RTVA, Canal Sur)
• Mónica Zalaquett – Presidenta Ejecutiva, Fedetur (Chile)
• Daniela Otero – Presidenta interina del Comité Mundial de Ética del Turismo – ONU Turismo
• Edgar Weggelaar – CEO, Queer Destinations
• Fran Serón – CEO, Tour 10
• Juan Francisco Delgado – Vicepresidente, AEIIA
• Víctor Fernández Morales – CEO, La Buena Huella
• Manuel Díez – Director, Hotel Balneario Sierra de las Nieves
• Juan Enrique Suárez del Real Tostado – Secretario de Turismo de Nayarit (México)
• René de Jong – Business Angel
• Eduvigis Ortiz – Presidenta, Women4Cyber Spain
• Eugenio Blanco – VP Content Engagement, DAZN
• Escarlata Sánchez – Periodista, Euronews
• Carlos Sánchez Sanz – Responsable de Experiencia de Cliente en KIA
• Manuel Vegas Lara – Presidente, AEDH
• Raúl Varela Barros – World Happiness Foundation
• Juanma Romero – Periodista
• Quan Zhou Wu – Artista
• Bisila Bokoko – CEO, BBES
• +1 Reconocimiento especial: Fundación Hilo Doble