Tourism Cares event highlights importance of inclusivity in tourism sector
On Tuesday June 30th, 2021, Danny and Maeve from the Trove team attended a Webinar entitled “Inclusivity is Sustainability” hosted by the organization Tourism Cares.
The webinar was a moderated conversation with a panel of leaders in various sectors of the travel industry. The common thread between the experts was their extensive work focusing on the inclusion of people of all identities, abilities, and backgrounds in the tourism space. The panel included Sherry Rupert (CEO of American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association), Billy Kolber (CEO and Co-Founder of HospitableME), John Sage (President of Accessible Travel Solutions), and Sonya Bradley (Chief of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Visit Sacramento.) This group has a wealth of knowledge about their respective niches in the tourism industry. They shared incredible insights about what inclusivity looks like and what it means for our industry as a whole.
The Webinar began with a question being posed: “What are the greatest challenges the trade needs to address in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion?” In general, the panel spoke about a need for increased education and awareness, as well as the lack of diversity and inclusion internally in the corporate travel industry. However, there were many specific stories of ways travel-related companies miss the mark on inclusion, a gap which is not only damaging to the consumer but also to the business.
For example, John brought up the fact that most companies do not think about accessibility beyond what is legally required. They often think the only physical disability that needs to be accommodated for is people in wheelchairs. This completely disregards a large market of older, retired travelers who have the most time and money to travel compared to other market segments - but often have bad knees. Increasing safety and comfort for travelers with bad knees would create a very profitable opportunity for companies while also improving people’s quality of life.
Along the same lines, Sherry spoke about the importance of tour operators educating themselves on native culture. It is crucial to listen to and respect the needs of indigenous people when it comes to tourism on their land. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it is good for the operations of the travel business. She relayed how tribal communities are very cautious when it comes to tourism on their land and if visitors are disrespectful they will not allow the opportunity for partnerships in the future.
One concept discussed that resonates with our mission at Trove is that a great way to increase traffic to your location is to develop tourism products that will drive more diverse travelers. There are so many diverse markets that can be tapped into to make travel a welcoming experience for all people. At Trove we have always been dedicated to diversity and inclusion, but the panelists gave us concrete methods and outlined distinctive ways of thinking and innovating that will undoubtedly improve our ability to create strategies for our clients to develop more inclusive and inviting spaces for travelers. It is education like this that allows for proactive, instead of reactive, problem-solving. The tourism industry cannot operate in a silo from the local environments in which it operates. As a result of this, Trove and its partners and clients face an imperative to integrate social development and inclusivity into marketing or strategy solutions.
Learn more about the Trove team as well as the impactful organization Tourism Cares.