FORT LAUDERDALE -- While Travel Weekly parent Northstar Travel Group was praised for forming the Black Travel Advisory Board in 2020, members of that board told the CruiseWorld audience here that the industry could do much better to increase Black representation.
Five of the board members spoke during a session at the show on Thursday, including Stephen Scott, owner of Chicago-based agency Travel 365, who said he "doesn't see the movement that needs to happen."
Scott said larger travel agencies haven't achieved greater diversity in their workforce. He said that when he was a business development manager at Royal Caribbean International, he would walk into travel agencies in New York City and say to himself, "Wow, I might be the only Black person who has been in this office in the past five years. Is it a decision, is it an accident or is it a network issue? I believe when you get to the larger agencies, it's a decision to not have a diverse staff."
Scott added, "There's not equal opportunity being displayed among leadership, marketing and media" in the travel industry.
Cruise Planners travel advisor Valerie Dorsey also talked about the need to hire more Black advisors.
"If you've got clients who are Black, I don't care what your travel agency is, clients need to see people who are like them, so that when they book travel they feel immersed in it," Dorsey said.
Zenbiz Travel founder Laurence Pinckney discussed the work that needs to happen to increase Black representation in suppliers' marketing materials.
"I have to be able to go to a cruise line marketing department and see people [in marketing images] that look like my clients," Pinckney said.
Board members also talked about positive developments in the industry.
Cory Wallace, a Celebrity Cruises national account manager, said Celebrity "recognizes the importance of talent and skill." He said his national accounts team was "responsible for 85% of Celebrity revenue," and that of the four members of the team, three are Black.
"I say that not to brag, because at the end of the day, that was not intentional. That was not the objective for Celebrity to go out and get people of color. The objective was to go out and get people capable of doing the job," he said.
Dorsey complimented Travel Weekly for its Cover Story on microaggressions, saying it was "impactful" and could help readers understand what Black travelers experience.
And TV travel personality Denella Ri'chard talked about her personal journey of losing her position as senior director of trade engagement at Holland America Line because of the pandemic then launching her next career as a TV travel host.
"Traveling with Denella Ri'chard" is a nationally syndicated program and can often be watched on airlines' entertainment systems.
"When the world was on lockdown, I wanted to continue to inspire people to travel the world again," Ri'chard said.