Our 2023 study on the operationalization of collaboration revealed that 80% of respondents consider it either extremely important (33%) or very important (47%) for collaborators to prioritize DEI.

The study also found that respondents favor collaborations that:

• Support team members from diverse backgrounds.
• Involve organizations owned or led by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Align with DEI values.
• Serve a diverse customer base.

Bringing DEI into your collaboration strategy can start with small incremental steps. When you set an intention and start to act, things happen. It may seem like small, incremental moves at first, but suddenly you will find yourself reflecting and those incremental moves have led to monumental shifts and changes.

To build a more diverse collaboration:

• Be intentional about the partners you seek
• Look for those who bring different perspectives to the table
• Set your intentions and focus on achieving your goals

A great example of operationalizing collaboration and aligning the strategy with DEI goals is the story of Mesa, Arizona’s journey to become the first Autism certified city in the U. S.

Improving Inclusion with Collaboration: A Story

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is coming to the forefront of everyone in the travel and tourism industry’s mind. In my interview with Marc Garcia from Visit Mesa on episode 275 of Destination on the Left, he shared his personal passion for making his community a fun place to visit for all travelers by becoming the first autism-certified city in the United States.

Garcia had experience with multi-cultural initiatives throughout his career from the Phoenix Multi-cultural Arts Foundation to running a multi-cultural affairs department focused on attracting ethnic meetings and conventions to his community. Even with that experience, the idea to focus on autism in Mesa came from his youngest son, who was diagnosed with severe autism at age 14 months.

Garcia explained the journey his family had been on to figure out how to care for his son, what his needs were, and where to obtain the services he needed. Living their lives included summertime family vacations with a tradition of travelling to Southern California and spending a lazy week at the beach.

One summer, they decided to immerse themselves in the city to try different restaurants and visit museums and attractions. They split their vacation time half of the week at the beach and half in the city. Garcia reports that they had a really bad week as his son had meltdown after meltdown. He described the awkward stares and muffled whispers the family would get when his son acted up. He noted they were coming from the hospitality professionals in hotels, restaurants, and attractions. That is when Garcia decided that he wanted to do something to make it easier for families with autism to travel and enjoy a vacation together.

Making a Plan

Visit Mesa was in the middle of a three-year strategic plan when Garcia presented the idea of becoming autism-friendly to his Board of Directors. His research showed that 1 in 100 kids were diagnosed with autism 10 years ago. At that time it was 1 in 58, and in the 2020s it is 1 in 44 who are eventually diagnosed with autism. Garcia knew that this was a loyal customer base and a growing market, which helped him make the business case for his big idea. Not only was it the right thing to do but it was a good business decision if they could get out in front of the market. The Board of Directors and the staff at Visit Mesa bought into the idea and in the Fall of 2018, they started to build a collaboration to make Mesa the first autism-certified city in the United States.

Since Garcia’s son was getting resources from local organizations, he started working through his network to find someone to provide education to the hospitality industry, hoping to find a certification program. He couldn’t find any programs that existed locally, so he looked nationally and came across the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards based in Jacksonville, Florida. The organization had autism-certified school boards, public safety groups, healthcare and educational professionals. They had started to certify hotels and attractions scattered across the country, but never an entire city. After several conversations together they determined if Mesa could get 58 hospitality businesses and 80% of frontline staff to go through this educational program, they could achieve certification as an autism-certified travel destination. The first focus was the destination and not the whole city.

Training and Certifying

The Visit Mesa staff went through the program first in February 2019, followed by a community-wide launch that April. They partnered with five organizations to launch the program, including the Chamber of Commerce, the City Parks Department and three of their largest hotels. They engaged the Mayor of Mesa and had him on camera carrying the message of why the initiative was important. Garcia described the domino effect that happened after launch as unbelievable, with business after business signing on to be part of the certification program. With outreach through the mayor’s office and the Chamber of Commerce, many businesses outside of the hospitality industry saw the certification program as a workforce recruitment tool. Boeing, local auto shops, a major utility company and many more signed on, and the program kept growing.

By late summer 2019, Mesa had exceeded the requirement of 58 businesses, and they had trained almost 5,000 people. With that success, they announced in November of 2019, that Mesa was the first autism-certified city in the country. They received a lot of great press stories with coverage in the LA Times, New York Times, BBC, and other top-tier outlets. They booked several meetings and conferences because of the designation, which Garcia says brought them strong ROI right at the start of this initiative.

Ongoing Efforts

Garcia points to the ongoing effort beyond the certification that is so important to this collaboration’s success. For example, on April 2, 2022, World Autism Awareness Day and start of National Autism Awareness Month, they partnered with two microbreweries to for a special beer release, Spectrum Double IPA. This partnership supports the autism-certified city while promoting Mesa’s burgeoning beer scene as they are also becoming known as a beer city.

A portion of the proceeds from the beer sales will go to support the recently formed Mesa Regional Foundation for Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion. The foundation was established to work on programs that further the cause. The first pilot program focused on introducing high school students from Title 1 schools to career opportunities in the hospitality industry. They are also developing a pilot program for sixth- through twelfth-graders who have an affinity for gaming, which many kids on the spectrum do. That program is a partnership with Arizona State University, who is opening a brand-new campus in downtown Mesa offering majors in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, gaming, and coding.

Garcia built a collaboration that has far-reaching impacts. Not only is he making a difference in his community, but he is also making the lives of autism families easier.

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Experiences Attract 

It’s all about the experience. Tourism marketers have known that visitors are looking for experiences that they can’t have anywhere else. They want to know what the options are, how to best enjoy them and when they are available. The same goes for people looking to relocate. They are evaluating a potential new community based on what it has to offer and how closely those experiences align with their personal interests. In order to draw in new residents, you should take inventory of the assets that your community has. Next, you should package those offerings in a compelling way.

It didn’t take a pandemic for Southern Idaho to realize the importance of aligning tourism assets as economic development and talent attraction assets. Hear how this community built collaborations to support talent and business attraction in partnership with the tourism office by listening to Episode 117 of Destination on the Left.  

Destination Brand and Storytelling 

Understanding your community’s brand and telling an authentic story about your destination are important strategies. These strategies can help draw tourists to even the smallest destinations. The same brand and story that works for visitors will resonate with potential residents as well. People want to live somewhere with a strong sense of community. They want a place where they feel they belong, and somewhere they would be proud to call home. A consistent brand, including the tone and voice of that brand, can convey these feelings of connection.

Discover Cleveland saw this connection a few years ago when they launched a pilot campaign designed to encourage expatriates to return to Cleveland for a better lifestyle. In my podcast interview with David Gilbert, President and CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland, he shared the initiative his organization was launching. The initiative aims to harness the power of visitors to help generate economic development. David referred to the one million visitors that Cleveland sees each year as “first dates.” He noted they are the best opportunity for conversion into future students, business opportunities or residents. Hear the full interview in Episode 128 of Destination on the Left. 

Local Ambassadors 

Local residents, business owners and frontline staff are the best salespeople for any community. These folks provide first-hand testimonials about what it’s like to live in your community. In fact, they often represent the fabric of that community. Tourism marketers know that visitors are looking to “live like the locals,” when experiencing a destination. There has been a trend for more authentic experiences and off-the-beaten-path attractions. These curiosities with a pull towards deeper exploration will serve a community well when trying to attract new residents, talent and future businesses. These are the elements that set a community apart when someone is looking for a new place to call home.  

Judy McKinney Cherry, Executive Director of the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development, knows the importance of tourism to the fabric of her community. On episode 207 of Destination on the Left, she describes the industry as an important economic driver for every community. Additionally, she explains that building relationships with visitors can lead to deeper connections and growth opportunities.  

Partnering with Economic Development Offices 

The importance of tourism as an economic driver for communities became apparent in 2020 when most travel came to a halt. During these times, we noticed destination marketing organizations stepping up to the plate in new ways to support their communities. Many partnered with local economic development agencies to support local businesses through the challenging year. Others became the communications conduit for everything from where to get take-out to virtual experiences to re-opening guidelines and protocols. These organizations and new collaborations proved the power of what is possible when everyone works together. As our industry navigates the future, my hope is that the lessons learned and partnerships formed during the pandemic help build stronger communities for the future. This includes tapping into the power of tourism marketing for talent attraction.  

One of my favorite examples of what is possible can be seen in the collaboration between the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection and the Ontario County Economic Development Office.

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