New York City Ua hōʻike aku nei ka Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) i ʻelua mau panela maikaʻi loa ma New York International Travel Show ma New York City e kaʻana like ana i nā hana DEAI maikaʻi loa e ka hoʻokipa kūleʻa a me nā ʻoihana huakaʻi a me ka ʻike insider mai ka poʻe nūpepa huakaʻi kiʻekiʻe. Ua kamaʻilio nā panela i nā pilikia kūpono a koʻikoʻi i ka pōʻaiapili o ke kahua o ka hōʻike, "The Future of Travel."
The first panel, Where Everyone Is Welcome: Destinations That Embrace Diversity Reap Big Rewards, dove into the importance of DEAI practices to a company’s bottom line: in 2019, Black leisure travelers spent $110 billion on domestic travel, accessible travel accounted for $49 billion, and the LGBTQ+ sector spent $218 billion globally. The panelists were executives engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion work: Apoorva Gandhi, Senior Vice President, Multicultural Affairs, Social Impact and Business Councils at Marriott International, Inc.; Francesca Rosenburg, Director, Access Programs and Initiatives, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Stacy Gruen, Senior Public Relations Manager of North America at Intrepid Travel; and Joyce Kiehl, Director of Communications for Visit Greater Palm Springs. SATW Immediate Past President Elizabeth Harryman Lasley introduced the panel, and Tonya Fitzpatrick, cofounder of World Footprints, LLC, a socially conscious travel media platform, moderated it.
Saturday’s panel, How to Travel Better: Top Travel Journalists Share Their Secrets, featured Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrick, cofounders of www.WorldFootprints.com; Darley Newman, Travels With Darley, PBS; Annita Thomas, founder of www.TravelWithAnnita.com; and Troy Petenbrink with the www.TheGayTraveler.com. SATW President Kim Foley MacKinnon introduced the panel, and Elizabeth Harryman Lasley moderated it. An American Sign Language interpreter signed both panels.
Key takeaways from Friday’s panel included the news that improvements are taking place from the detailed to the comprehensive. For example, flooring in hotel rooms that accommodates wheelchairs, and the elimination of single use plastics are on the rise. Programs at MoMA for veterans, the people who are blind, the individuals who are deaf, and people who are autistic are also beginning to take place at other museums; and specialized tours, such as Rochester Accessible Adventures, offer special bicycles for people with disabilities, and similar tours and programs are starting at other destinations.
Essential tips from Saturday’s panel included signing up for Global Entry, which also includes TSA pre-check, for $100 for five years. The panelists emphasized traveling deeply and locally, including visiting local coffee shops to get a location’s vibe and news, signing up for food tours run by local families, and staying at short-term rentals outside of city centers to save money and to get to know people. Also, avoiding over-tourism has become important again and the panelists recommended traveling in the shoulder seasons and planning around festivals or game days that drive up hotel and travel prices in general. They also said that travel insurance is imperative and can cover medical costs, while taking fewer trips and staying longer can be more sustainable. They recommended hiring a travel advisor for complicated trips and to travel with only carry-on luggage.
The discussions for both panels were lively, substantial, and generated a great Q&A between the powerful travel panelists and the attendees. Tonya Fitzpatrick programmed both panels. The International Travel Show (ITS2022), with presenting sponsor Travel + Leisure GO, is the successor to The New York Times Travel Show.
Founded in 1955, SATW has the distinction of being North America’s premier professional travel media organization by constantly learning from and reevaluating needs of a changing world and its media landscape. All members must meet and maintain the industry’s highest standards of productivity, ethics, and conduct, and they must support SATW’s mission of “Inspiring Travel Through Responsible Journalism.”
