New Survey Sheds Light on Diversity and Inclusion in Travel Industry

A new proprietary survey by our sister publication Travel Weekly has revealed a wide gulf between how black and white travel professions view inclusion in the industry.

TW’s findings were startling.

Of the 423 industry professionals responding to a recent Travel Weekly survey attempting to gauge perception on the topic, 53 percent agreed or strongly agreed the industry is diverse and inclusive, 22 percent were neutral, and 17 percent disagreed.

But breaking it down among the races proved a far more disparate view.

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Among white respondents, the percentage who agreed or strongly agreed was 61 percent. But among the 15 percent of the respondents who indicated they were black, the same percentage — 61 percent — disagreed or strongly disagreed that the industry is diverse and inclusive, while 23 percent indicated a neutral position, and 15 percent believe it is.

One Black 25-year industry veteran commented that, for the 10 years that she worked for a large corporate agency, “I was the only Black agent in all the Southern California branches. When I was promoted to agency manager, I had the opportunity to hire several Black agents, but we were still grossly underrepresented in my company. In the area of leadership, Black representation was even worse.”

And it wasn't just employment within the industry. Another concern that came up repeatedly in comments had to do with the lack of people of color in sales collateral or advertising imagery. Among the comments:

“Few advertising media display persons of color despite the fact that much of their revenue is derived from this group.”

“Marketing and advertising for leisure travel overwhelmingly caters to and features white travelers.”

“Especially with upscale and luxury suppliers, marketing assets are not diverse and inclusive. Representation is sparse.”

You can find the entire survey, all of its questions, all of its responses and an interpretation here on the Travel Weekly site.