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.

The post Collaboration is a Key to Improving Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Tourism appeared first on Travel Alliance Partnership.

While certain travel companies have let their DEI initiatives and commitments go, others continue to prioritize and expand their efforts, and some are changing how they communicate the subject – moving from “DEI” to “social impact.”

Equitable is one of the core values at Travel Alliance Partnership and it was years ago that a series of small steps lead to a big shift in our company to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive. This commitment remains front and center today – from chairing a DEI committee and participating in conferences and educational sessions on the topic to the work we plan and execute with our current clients.

Why we need to keep focus on DEI

Just last week, the New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA) offered a webinar on “Unlocking the Power of DEI in Tourism Marketing,” where the speaker reviewed how DEI fosters learning and growth and how it benefits destinations. DEI should matter to everyone, and the following studies demonstrate why:

• Impact on Brand Perception – 71% of consumers surveyed by Edelman (2020) stated that they are more likely to trust a brand that showcases diversity in its advertising.
• Social Media Response – 45% of consumers in a Kantar study said they would share an ad on social media if it featured diverse representation.
• Impact of Representation – when audiences see themselves authentically represented in advertising, they are more likely to connect emotionally with the brand and feel a sense of belonging. This emotional connection leads to increased brand loyalty and advocacy.

I also recently attend the NYSTIA conference in Niagara Falls, where a panel presented “Marketing to Diverse Audiences” for attendees to learn about I LOVE NY Division of Tourism’s marketing initiatives to reach diverse audiences and ask questions.

Key takeaways for DEI initiatives in tourism marketing

Research Your Target Audience

It’s vital to understand what interests your target markets. Beyond during your own research, make sure to have someone from that specific audience at the table, especially in the planning process.  

Be Authentic

You can’t be everything to everyone. Segment your audience and pick a few that fit into a niche you can highlight. Own what you have because that’s more authentic.

• Rochester, NY is home to one the largest per capita populations of deaf and hard of hearing people in the country. Rochester’s Museum of Play hosted a specific “Deaf Day of Play” for this specific audience to know they would feel especially welcome at the museum with ASL assistance.
• If you are going to focus on the LGBTQ audience, you need to have activities to support that. Focusing on Pride Week by scheduling paid advertising without events or LGBTQ- friendly or -owned businesses to support that, your organization appears inauthentic. If your community doesn’t have enough to share on this segment, you might consider creating a blog about wanting to be more inclusive and requesting feedback. 

Stay Current

Consider reviewing your website and materials to ensure images and verbiage are current and speak to generational differences when it comes to terminology.

Destinations and Travel Professionals Leading the Way in DEI

Historical Figure brings DEI to the Forefront, Cayuga County CVB

Cayuga County is proudly the home of Harriet Tubman, where she lived the last 54 years of her free life. Leading up to the 200th anniversary of Tubman’s birth in March 2022, the Tourism Office refocused the perception of the destination and repositioned itself as a place where freedom, justice, and equality are not just words, but actions supported by the entire community.

In Episode 295 of Destination on the Left, Karen Kuhl, Executive Director at Cayuga CVB shared that because of Harriet Tubman’s legacy and connectivity with so many community members and tourism product in the area, they needed to make sure the roots of the CVB were as strong as the marketing campaign they would create.

“If we were going to be speak of Harriet Tubman’s legacy, we needed to ensure that DEI was built into the DNA of the organization.”

Karen Kuhl

In the episode, Karen is transparent about how they laid the internal groundwork – from internal documents and authentically securing diverse community members to serve on their board of directors, as well as forming a communications committee to ensure the correct language was used.

They also executed pride-building community outreach. In collaboration with community leaders, residents were educated that their hometown is a pivotal destination to learn about equal rights, and to connect with the story of Harriet Tubman in their hometown. 

“There have been challenges but also surprising beauty within all of it,” she noted. Karen also speaks to how this effort has impacted her other tourism marketing efforts, especially working at a deeper level.

The Collaborative Creation of Letchworth’s Autism Nature Trail

The Autism Nature Trail (ANT) at Letchworth State Park is a one-mile loop with eight unique outdoor sensory stations designed to stimulate growth and inclusivity among those with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.

In Episode 221 of Destination on the Left, Loren Penman, a retired educator who worked to bring Autism Nature Trail to fruition, shared how the idea was born. Listen to the full episode to hear how they aligned themselves with right partners needed to design, build, staff and maintain the trail. This ranged from an experienced design team to the autism community, including​ a volunteer advisory panel of a speech, occupational and physical therapists, special educators, school administrators, parents and grandparents of children with autism.

Loren also speaks to how their funding campaign was able to reach its goals despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. More than just a trail, ANT would not only impact the Park, but the communities that surround the park. Having outreach in place for staff training and even menu suggestions would help to positively impact the whole family experience. The story of the Autism Nature Trail is a perfect example of what can be accomplished with the use of collaboration and creativity.

Kristy Durso, Owner of Incredible Memories Travel and Spectrum of Accessibility

“Travel changes lives and even more for those with a disability.”

Kristy Durso

Kristy Durso is the owner of Incredible Memories Travel, a full-service agency with 85% of their clientele focusing on accessibility challenges. She is also the founder of the Spectrum of Accessibility, which trains travel professionals, destinations, DMOs to better accommodate travelers with a variety of disabilities that include mobility, hearing, cognitive, visual, invisible disabilities, neurodivergences, dietary accessibility and service dogs.

Episode 361 of Destination on the Left features insights from the National Tour Associations Travel Exchange. In her portion of the episode, Kristy discusses how changes in accessibility are happening on a broader scale and emphasizes that collaboration, partnership, and communication are key for successful accessible travel. She also shares what people should be thinking about when it comes to accessible travel and questions that are allowed to be asked to people with disabilities.

“Tourism is one of the most life-changing professions in the world. It isn’t just about leisure and free time. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world around us. Travel professionals open the doors for people to come in and get new experiences. Especially for people who think the world is closed off, a travel professional can change the trajectory of their life – it’s not just about getting to that one destination and being include in one experience, it’s about seeking out what else can I do?”

Kristy Durso

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