by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:06 AM ET, Thu February 24, 2022
Hurtigruten created a Black Traveler Advisory Board to enhance the brand among Black travelers.
According to Travel Weekly, the six members of the board were announced during a cruise aboard the Roald Amundsen in Antarctica. The members are to act as ambassadors of expedition cruising.
Members include Stephanie Jones, founder and CEO of the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance; Kareem George, founder and principal of Culture Traveler; Naledi Khabo, CEO of the Africa Tourism Association and co-founder of Travel is Better in Color; Martinique Lewis, co-founder and president of the Black Travel Alliance; Rue Mapp, founder and CEO of national nonprofit Outdoor Afro; and Patricia Yarbrough, president of Blue World Travel.
"The Black Traveler Advisory Board will not only help advance Hurtigruten Expeditions' inclusivity goals, but ultimately it will help drive change within the entire cruise industry," said Hurtigruten spokesman Anders Lindstrom, who also serves on the advisory board of the Black Travel Alliance.
Hurtigruten will donate $5,000 to each board member's organization or nonprofit of choice that will help empower Black travelers. In addition, the members will also receive a monetary benefit.
Issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (typically called DEI), don't just impact the internal workings of businesses and corporations. One way of building a better industry is understanding markets that have been previously ignored, including people of different colors and cultures, gender identities and even physical ability.
When corporations become more diverse internally, it shows externally, benefiting not only the corporations but also the travelers who travel with them, as their needs can be more easily met by a business that understands who they are, what they value and what they need out of their vacations.
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