For the better: Racial diversity, equity, & inclusion in USA tourism
Is the United States’ travel & tourism industry based on white privilege and Black exclusion? Stephanie M Jones thinks so. In this “Good Tourism” Insight, Ms Jones explains why she reckons a permanent budget item for racial diversity, equity, and inclusion would make for better tourism.
What’s good about tourism?
The people who make it happen so other people can enjoy it. The people who bring life to a destination through diverse experiences, cultures, and stories makes for good tourism.
The freedom that tourism affords people to venture out into the world to make new discoveries makes it good. The opportunity to do good and give back through intentional, meaningful travel is good tourism.
The millions of jobs created through tourism are good but could be much better if liveable wages to underpaid service workers were provided and those at the top shared some of the profits derived from this industry.
This makes tourism not so good: A lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in C‑suites, at board tables, in supplier contracting throughout the travel & tourism industry. That’s all a recipe for inequitable and non-inclusive tourism.
White privilege in tourism
In America, the scales for tourism have never been balanced nor close to it. When it comes to ensuring equitable opportunities to participate and profit in tourism they have tilted in favour of white males in leadership and white people in general. It’s not hard to see where and how poor tourism exists. Just look at who is and is not in rooms at industry events and meetings. It’s easy to spot inadequacy in tourism when you do not see diverse representation on website pages for leadership and boards.
There are several white-owned tour operators that have successfully profited and prospered in business for 50, 80 and even 100 years. However, most Black-owned tour operators have not been able to grow and sustain their businesses prior to COVID-19. This is due in part to their lack of inclusion in DMOs’ marketing and lack of access to buyer events designed to serve ‘big business’ in tourism.
Only those who can afford to pay to play profit in this industry.
Is this good tourism? You be the judge.
Black exclusion from tourism
From a traveller’s perspective the industry does tourism better than from a business perspective for the reasons previously mentioned. It is not good business to exclude Black travellers from marketing budgets. Although research continues to show an increase in spending by African American leisure travellers, this audience is under-targeted. Ignoring this travel market is not good tourism.
Since the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement amplified racial and social injustices in America in 2020, as I write this in June 2021 there seems to be a shift happening in travel & tourism. DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) has become a buzz phrase tossed around on websites, social media, and the topic of discussion for many industry webinars.
Words can be erased and talk is cheap. The sustainability of diversity, equity, and inclusion requires financial investment. If travel brands, DMOs, media, and associations do not include a permanent line item in their budget for DEI, then the efforts of the past year will have proven to have only been reactionary.
There needs to be intentional action to build DEI into organisational cultures and mission statements and budgets as the industry rebounds and recovers.
Checking off the box for that ‘one thing’ for DEI is not enough.
It is certainly not good tourism in my opinion.
What do you think? Share a short anecdote or comment below. Or write a deeper “GT” Insight. The “Good Tourism” Blog welcomes diversity of opinion and perspective about travel & tourism because travel & tourism is everyone’s business.
Featured image (top of post): By Capri23auto (CC0) via Pixabay.
About the author
Stephanie M Jones is a tourism development consultant working with destinations to develop programs that leverage cultural heritage to attract multicultural travellers to under-served communities. The founder & CEO of the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance (CHEA), Ms Jones has founded initiatives designed to “create diversity, equity, and inclusion in the travel & tourism industry”. These include Culture onShore; Black Cultural Heritage Tours; National Blacks in Travel & Tourism Collaborative; Black Tourism Talent Directory; and Diversity Tourism Academy. Stephanie serves on a number of American and international boards, committees, and panels, including the United States Travel & Tourism Advisory Board. She is a regular keynote speaker on the topics of diversity and inclusion, multicultural marketing, cultural heritage, stakeholder engagement, and the “Black travel movement”. She holds a MBA from Florida International University.
