2023 Travel Unity Summit Caribbean
Travel Unity held its first Caribbean Summit in San Juan, Puerto Rico October 2 & 3, 2023. Focused on bringing together travel professionals to learn about and from inclusive tourism practices across the Caribbean, the sold-out event welcomed more than 50 attendees. “People came from many different parts of the world, so I was really impressed with the diversity of the travel companies. I enjoyed learning about specific ideas that people used, and I just really wanted to be exposed to people who were like-minded. Being in this space, what else can I absorb that I can apply to my own company?” said Milka Rodriguez, Founder & CEO of Globetrotting Dominicana. For many attendees, this was their first Travel Unity experience, and they left the Summit highly satisfied. “Prior to today, I really had no idea about DEI. Just breaking it down, seeing what it actually meant, it really made me want to learn more about Travel Unity,” said Lathysha Semper, Owner of Simply Semper Travels. “I love to learn different things, especially when it comes to travel and tourism. ‘Make Travel Welcome to Everyone’ – that’s something I want to do, and I’m going to find out more about Travel Unity’s certification.” Creating Unity with the Local Communities in The Caribbean Through Travel The full-day Day 2 followed Day 1, which was a roundtable on Community Impact related to tourism in the Caribbean, featuring Roni Weiss, of Travel Unity, and Greg Takehara, CEO of Tourism Cares. They discussed unique opportunities in the Caribbean on deepening ties with the local communities. Kicking off Day 2 was a highly anticipated case study featuring Discover Puerto Rico’s “Live Boricua” campaign. Discover Puerto Rico staff members Jose Arana, Adriana Rivera, and Glorianna Yamin shared insights on their highly successful campaign from the “why” behind the strategic planning to the “what” of specific marketing elements. Most importantly, they discussed the “who” that guided the campaign. “It is very important to create cultural sustainability – educating people on our traditions and cultures as well as reflecting our people, inclusively. This is for the purpose of everyone, not only our Boricuas, but everyone, to be able to see themselves reflected,” said Rivera. Yamin added, “When you’re here, you’re going to feel like you are family. That’s what we wanted to portray. It’s important we portray the culture, as travelers don’t want to travel for “travel” anymore, they want to leave the place better than they found it.” The “conscientious traveler” and the desire to create experiences that speak to them was a theme heard throughout the day, as well as the importance of being authentic to the various groups in the community. The second session was a review of Visit Greater Palm Springs and their award-winning DEI practices. Todd Burke the DMO’s Vice President of Communications, shared how their latest campaign was a reflection of the region’s highly visible LGBTQ+ community. But Burke cautioned that they were aware they had to represent more than one aspect. “We have to balance our outreach, make an effort to reflect all communities in the area. How are we deliberate about telling those stories? We pitch journalists to have a broad approach to coverage of the area, not just the main story.” Burke also emphasized training their whole organization to embed DEI in their foundation, from having a role focused on DEI efforts to the impact Travel Unity had in helping refine processes so that these equitable approaches were part of its institutional memory. Inclusive Caribbean Tours: How Tour Organizers Can Apply DEI The third session was a panel featuring multiple tour organizers who take an inclusive approach for their guests, of all abilities, to enjoy their trips. Moderated by Matt Skallerud, President of Pink Media, panelists Harry Alvarez, of Offbeat Travel, Melina Aguilar Colon, Founder of Isla Caribe, and Laura Ortiz-Villamil, Owner of Sofrito Tours, shared their thoughts and strategies on creating tours for people with disabilities. “I was approached by sign language students who wanted to help translate my existing tours. They wanted to help for free, and I can promote the tours using social media. It’s in a test phase, but most likely, I will have to cap it,” said Aguilar Colon. Ortiz-Villamil revealed that she faced challenges when working with vendors to ensure that the treatment of her guests aligned with her standards. “It can be different with younger generations as they are doing the work to make sure people are comfortable. I do talk with some of my vendors to make sure they are trained and equipped on how to be welcoming to diverse populations.” Alvarez pointed out that in some cases, tour organizers can use the help of local government resources to make their DEI efforts sustainable. The Summit closed with a workshop to introduce how to apply DEI to a travel organization. Facilitated by Vandana Agrawal, a DEI trainer, the session walked through various methods to analyze current efforts and find ways to improve policies regarding employees, practices around visitors and engagement with the local community. Agrawal said it was critical for travel organizations to look at all three elements holistically so they can influence all people their work impacts.
American Voices: United to Reset and Rebuild Travel
This is a virtual Zoom panel discussion about how we can reset and rebuild travel in the travel industry through diversity. This will give participants a glimpse into what they can anticipate the 2020 VR Travel Unity Summit in October. What is an American? This question is being defined by an increasingly diverse population; this panel discussion will delve into what being an American means through the prism of the tourism industry and current events. The panel featured the following: Confirmed Moderator: K. J. Matthews is an accomplished Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist, media trainer, and public speaker. K.J. is has worked with CNN, BBC, DWNews, CNNI, ExtraTV, CBS news, and ABCnews. Confirmed Panelists: 1.Mike Schibel- Founder of Travel with Meaning and the Host of Travel Talks. 2. Imani Bashir- Journalist and Author of coloring book series entitled, “Follow the Takeoff Toddler.” She also released an ebook for people interested in knowing about living abroad, how to make the move and how to adjust which is entitled, “Pack Your Sh*t: The Ultimate Guide to Moving & Adjusting to Life Abroad. 3. Ernest White II- Journalist, Storyteller, and Host of a travel show on PBS, Fly Brother. 4. Kristen Gill- Award-winning writer and photographer Kristen Gill produces content for various publications such as The Guardian, Seattle Times, BBC, NPR, Travel Weekly, and more. Featured as a travel expert on MSN, CBS Travel, and BBC’s “The World.” 5.Latifah Al-Hazza- Emmy award-winning travel journalist as well as the Cofounder of Femscape Sojourns, a boutique women’s travel company. Her work can be read in CNN Travel, The New York Times, Frommer’s Travel Guides, and World Travel Magazine, to name a few. 6. Jeannette Ceja- TV Host, Travel Journalist, Global Public Speaker, and Founder of Jet Set with Jeannette. 7. Jessica Blotter- CEO & Co-Founder of Kind Traveler, a keynote speaker, and journalist on sustainable tourism, and serves on the Board of Directors for CREST (Center for Responsible Travel) in Washington, DC. The moment she discovered the love of travel can’t be separated from the state of the world after witnessing devastating poverty on a trip to Belize, she wondered how the travel industry could be harnessed to benefit local communities, the environment, and animals. This experience led her and her co-founder to harness their entrepreneurial backgrounds to launch KindTraveler.com, the first socially conscious Give + Get hotel booking and sustainable travel media platform empowering travelers to positively impact the destinations they visit. As of 2020, Kind Traveler represents 120+ hotels and 70+ charities in 15 countries and was a recipient of Travel + Leisure’s 2020 Global Vision Award. She holds an M.A. in Education from Ottawa University and a B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University. She currently resides in Manhattan Beach, California. Find inspiration to do more than travel on KindTraveler.com 8. Matt Paco- A Video Content Producer for Lonely Planet. He also owns D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe, which he started in 2018 with his husband in Nashville, TN. Previously, Matt was the Executive Producer of WSMV’s “News 4 Today” morning show, which won the 2018 Regional Emmy for Best Morning Broadcast. He has also worked as a producer for NBC, MSNBC, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, PBS, LOGO, and Fuse in New York City. Currently, Matt is on the board of directors of Saddle Up. He is also the Co-Chair of the Chukkers For Charity Polo Match & Classic Car Show, which benefits Saddle Up and the Rochelle Center – two Tennessee nonprofits that help children and adults with disabilities. Matt graduated from the University of Virginia where he majored in International Relations. The panel will tackle issues like cultural assimilation vs pluralism and nationalism. The panelists, all tourism professionals, will weigh in on what it means to be an American traveling in foreign countries, as well as, how their unique identities could be leveraged to serve as a fulcrum for innovative growth and change within the travel industry.