Multicultural Travel News – News From MMGY Global, National Museum of African American Music, Kansas City, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Lithuania, Mexico and Mesa, AZ

News Briefs:

MMGY Global announced that it is developing a series of market research studies to be informed by diverse travel advocacy organizations to better identify the needs, behaviors and sentiment of underrepresented travel communities. The first installment of these studies, powered by MMGY Travel Intelligence, is titled ​The Black Traveler: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities and focuses on Black leisure travelers and meetings professionals. The Black Traveler study is set to be published in late October. The Black Traveler: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities​ report will include results from: MMGY Global’s 2019 Shifflet ​TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/Monito​rT​M profiling Black leisure travelers within the United States, the development of an accurate measure of the economic power of the Black traveler, a new survey analyzing the current opinions and attitudes of Black leisure travelers globally, and a new survey of Black meetings professionals from the members of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP). To ensure the two new surveys appropriately document the true sentiment of the Black traveler, survey questions are being developed with oversight and input from a steering committee of diverse industry experts and through partnerships with travel advocacy organizations, including the Black Travel Alliance (BTA), the NCBMP and the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD). MMGY Global and its supporting sponsors, including Choice Hotels International®, Tripadvisor and Virginia Tourism Office, ​have committed that all net proceeds will be donated back to the three partner organizations ​–​ BTA, NABHOOD and NCBMP ​– ​as well as several other not-for-profit groups. For more information, visit https://www.mmgyglobal.com/diversity-in-travel/.

The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) announced that it will kick off a year-long celebration filled with a variety of digital experiences and limited in-person events. The public will be able to engage and interact with NMAAM through various digital experiences available via the museum’s website and social media channels. The museum is continuing to share the story of the influence and contributions of African Americans on the American soundtrack. The signature From Nothing to Something educational program is now being offered across NMAAM social media platforms, along with other recurring programming such as Sips and Stanzas, the My Music Matters interview series and the Fine Tuning Masterclasses. NMAAM will also soon offer virtual tours of the museum and digital sneak peaks of selected items in its collection of artifacts. The National Museum of African American Music, set to open in fall 2020, will be the only museum dedicated solely to preserving African American music traditions and celebrating the central role African Americans have played in shaping American music. Based in Nashville, Tenn., the museum will share the story of the American soundtrack by integrating history and interactive technology to honor Black musical heroes of the past and the present. For more information, please visit www.blackmusicmuseum.org.

The Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau launched the launch of the ‘KCK Taco Trail’, a mapped-out trail of nearly 50 local taquerias. Within the last decade, the taco scene has exploded with taquerias all over town, making Kansas City, Kansas the go-to destination for authentic tacos. The KCK Taco Trail gives the community a flavor-filled experience of culture and history through food. Starting Oct. 1, locals and visitors alike can visit www.kcktacotrail.com to sign up for the KCK Taco Trail. The trail not only maps out where to find the most authentic tacos, but also gives diners the chance to win prizes. The KCK Taco Trail is ongoing however, consumers have until Oct. 31, 2021 to complete the trail and win prizes. To view a full list of the nearly 50 restaurants on the KCK Taco Trail, visit www.kcktacotrail.com. For more information, follow the KCK CVB on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VisitKansasCityKS and Instagram at @visitkansascityks.

With a common goal of telling a fuller American story, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay; the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; and the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership will collaborate to map and identify sites and landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed region significant to African American history and culture. The project will map African American cultural sites in an effort to support their conservation and to enable the three states and their localities to fully consider them in their land use and development plans. This multi-state partnership will undertake unique pilot projects in each of the three states to identify sites and landscapes of relevance to African American history and culture. The project will also be guided by an advisory committee of professionals dedicated to preserving African American history. Katherine Malone-France, Chief Preservation Officer of the National Trust, says, “Mapping African American historic places within the Chesapeake watershed is a critical first step in making sure that these places are protected and that their stories are told.” As home to some of America’s first colonies, the Chesapeake Bay watershed region is already known to have a significant meaning to African American culture. Many major tobacco plantations were located there, as were many stops on the Underground Railroad. It was the place where Harriet Tubman and both Frederick Douglass and his first wife were enslaved. It includes many battlegrounds of the Civil War, as well as places of notable activism in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Generations of Black Americans have made their living from the waters of the Bay and have also used special places along the Bay and throughout the region for recreation. Historic sites and landscapes important to people of color are widely underrepresented in documentation and conservation priorities. This work will take one small step towards addressing that deficit. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places. SavingPlaces.org | @savingplaces

Mesa is officially the first Autism Certified City in the country with close to 4,000 stakeholders in health care, education, hospitality and government trained to better serve people with the sensory disorder. The city was recently certified by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards and is now able to tap into a new source of visitor dollars to the region. More than 32 million individuals with autism and their families travel each year, according to IBCCES data, while close to $262 billion is spent on autism-related services in the U.S. each year. For almost 20 years, IBCCES has been spearheading autism training for licensed health care professionals and educators around the globe. In order for an entire city to become certified, it must first certify at least 60 businesses, as well as schools and other city departments. For a company or organization to become certified, 80 percent or more of its guest-facing staff must undergo position-specific training. The nearly year-long effort behind the autism certification was launched by the city’s destination marketing organization Visit Mesa, which encouraged businesses to participate in the training in order to meet the needs of travelers with autism. Visit Mesa championed the idea of servicing those living with autism as well as their families from the very beginning stages of planning a vacation, to when they arrive and throughout their stay. Almost 60 businesses and organizations in Mesa and the surrounding area completed autism certification training — including Jake’s Unlimited, AZ Goat Yoga, i.d.e.a. Museum, Arizona Museum of Natural History, Mesa Arts Center, Main Street Bar and Grill and Escape Rooms Mesa. https://www.visitmesa.com/autism-travel/

The state of Guanajuato, located in the center of Mexico, in the region known as El Bajío, and home to the colonial jewels of San Miguel de Allende and the state’s capital, Guanajuato City, has started its tourism reactivation with the launch of its new brand with the slogan “Guanajuato, live great stories.” “We are inviting our visitors and tourists to be the protagonists of their own history, taking as a setting the tourist wealth of our state, as well as our World Heritage Cities, Magical Towns, archaeological zones — every corner of Guanajuato,” said Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo. “Today, from the heart of our capital city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, we announce to Mexico and the world that Guanajuato is the ideal place to live great stories.” Guanajuato has a rich history dating back to pre-Hispanic times, when nomadic indigenous populations made areas of the state their home, leaving behind unique archeological sites. The state is also the cradle of the Mexican independence movement and houses some of the most well-maintained colonial and baroque aquiculture of the Spanish conquest in the country.

Earlier this year, Lithuania Travel presented a new Lithuanian image campaign entitled “Discover Colours You Never Knew Existed.” The campaign invites you to learn about the uniqueness and versatility of Lithuania, the country of untouched natural treasures, distinctive architectural objects, and quirky local gastronomy—a perfect place for all your senses. Baltic Blue and Rye Bread Black? Lithuania is indeed full of quirky shades. What do these colours mean? Kaunas Modernism Grey is the colour of rich history. Hours spent walking around architectural marvels is what makes you touch history, and lets history touch you. Rye Bread Black is the colour of feeling at home. The smell of a freshly baked loaf presented to you by your host. Vištytis: Right by the southwestern country border lies the beautiful Lake Vištytis and a town carrying the same name. The legend says that almost a hundred years ago a local man from Vištytis town harnessed the wind to produce flour. This year, the millhouse has come back to life for a different purpose—to educate the ones interested in the old crafts and to feed the hungry souls with mesmerizing views. Museum of Ancient Beekeeping: Soulful and rewarding friendship between bees and humans is what beekeeping is all about. Learn about this occupation dating hundreds of years back and treat yourself with a unique therapeutic experience. The Museum of Ancient Beekeeping offers aromatherapy in a new and original way: a cozy attic, the scent of bee products, the sound of bees humming. For more information, visit www.lithuania.travel/en.

Increases in air connectivity and visitor arrivals, support for tourism infrastructure and product development, the creation of health and safety protocols, and several accolades and recognitions — all are the direct result of the first two years of Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal and his administration, working with the Ministry of Tourism of Yucatán to develop, strengthen and promote the state’s tourism industry, using a sustainable approach. “Facing the global challenges in the tourism activity, the State of Yucatán has not stopped for a single moment,” said Michelle Fridman Hirsch, head of the Ministry of Tourism of Yucatán. “Efforts have even been redoubled to move after the effects of the pandemic, towards a gradual and safe reactivation to contribute, in the first instance, to the economic recovery of the Yucatecan population and the state.” One of the main goals of the Ministry of Tourism of Yucatán ongoing efforts is innovation with a sustainable vision. More than 60 new tourism products have been developed and integrated in the state’s six tourism regions, covering market segments such as nature, culture, gastronomy, beach, adventure and “urban premium,” among others. With this effort, it was possible to highlight — and bring tourism products to — places like Tekax, which saw a new tourism surge, increasing its visitor numbers by 300%. Today, the historical city — briefly the state capital, in 1845 — has new investments and more qualified personnel.

About This Newsletter

Multicultural Travel News newsletter (MTN) covers travel news of interest to ethnic and niche travelers and those who market to them. We write about destinations that interest multicultural travelers or have outreach campaigns to travelers of Hispanic, African American, Asian American and other cultural backgrounds; women; LGBT travelers and people with disabilities.

Multicultural Travel News is published by Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc. (MMR). To view past editions click here.

Lisa Skriloff, Editor

Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc.

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