PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Tuesday, October 13th, 2020
Lack of Diversity In The Travel Industry Highlighted From Black Travel Alliance #PullUpForTravel Campaign Report
The Black Travel Alliance has published findings from its #PullUpForTravel campaign which was announced alongside the organization’s launch on June 16th.
The main objective of the campaign was to challenge the disconnect between travel brands’ “Black Lives Matter” pronouncements in the wake of George Floyd’s publicized murder and their actions in the travel space. The alliance requested travel brands and organizations to publicly share 2019 KPIs on Black representation in their companies and activities in five major areas: employment, conferences & tradeshows, paid advertising/marketing campaigns, press, and philanthropy.
Highlights from the campaign results include:
- Of the 121 travel organizations that BTA identified as posting about #BlackLivesMatter or #BlackOutTuesday, 67 (55%) responded to the #PullUpForTravel campaign.
- Employment: Of the 67 campaign respondents, 29 companies gave a percentage range of 0% to 90%. However, most of the responses were for the category of POC employees and not specifically for Black employees.
- Conferences & tradeshows: Of the 67 respondents, 6 companies provided figures that they ensured Black representation on speaker panels, workshops, and sessions at conferences and trade shows.
- Paid Advertising/marketing campaigns: Of the 67 respondents, 12 companies provided data figures demonstrating that they included Black representation in the areas of TV, radio, print, and digital channels including social media in 2019.
- Press: Of the 67 respondents, 6 companies provided data indicating that they ensured Black representation on media/press trips in 2019.
- Philanthropy: Of the 67 respondents, 5 companies provided figures for charitable contributions/support to black charities and community groups.
Much of the information received from most destination management organizations and travel brands was incomplete and more statements than reporting of their actual KPIs due to lack of diversity. Despite this, the Black Travel Alliance views the campaign as a success. “As a new organization, we were able to get sixty-seven destination management organizations and travel brands to go on the record about Black representation within their companies. This now becomes a benchmark for greater transparency and accountability in the months and years to come” states Black Travel Alliance President Martinique Lewis.
Overall, key takeaways from the #PullUpForTravel campaign include:
- Black people are under-represented at all levels within the travel industry and there is a great need to address the imbalance.
- There is, for the most part, lip service paid to diversity and inclusion and it is time for allies in the travel industry to join forces with organizations like the Black Travel Alliance and push for positive change in the travel industry – and the world at large.
The Black Travel Alliances plans to undertake a formal study of the #PullUpForTravel campaign before the one year anniversary to see what improvements destination management organizations and brands have made since posting black squares as a sign of solidarity.
In the interim, the Black Travel Alliance is currently working on The Black Traveler Study, a random sample of 4,500 Black leisure travelers from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom/Ireland. Scheduled for publication in November, the study is being conducted in partnership with MMGY Global along with the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) and the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers (NABHOOD).
“We are excited about these two research projects as well as others in the pipeline as they will help us move beyond making the emotional argument to making a solid business case for greater representation with the travel industry,” states Ursula Petula Barzey, Black Travel Alliance Research Committee Chair.
The summary (PDF), as well as the full report (PDF) for the #PullUpForTravel campaign, can be viewed on the Black Travel Alliance website.
ENDS
For more information
Media Contact: Martina Jones Johnson
Phone: 347-871-8236
Email: mediarequests@blacktravelalliance.com
Instagram: @TheBlackTravelAlliance + Twitter: @TheBlackTravelA
Internet: www.blacktravelalliance.com
About Black Travel Alliance
Black Travel Alliance is a new group of Black Travel Content Creators from across the globe. Our three pillars of the community are alliance, amplification, and accountability. As travel authors, bloggers, broadcasters, journalists, photographers, podcasters, social media influencers, and vloggers, we unify to amplify. We also aim to provide training and business support to our members, as well as hold destinations and travel brands accountable on the issue of diversity in travel marketing and storytelling.