David Meany, Director Partner Marketing of The Travel Corporation, presented their strategy for developing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
David defined DEI terminologies as:
David defined DEI terminologies as:
David Meany, Director Partner Marketing of The Travel Corporation, presented their strategy for developing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). David defined DEI terminologies as:
1. Diversity- similarities and differences that shape our people, nationality, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status
2. Equity- providing equal opportunities for everyone by seeing differences of people. Equity differs from equality which ignores the differences of individuals.
3. Inclusion- building a culture that actively encourages participation of all people, varied workforces.
He reflected on the SDG 9 as an initiative to establish a framework for DEI to address issues identified within the Travel Corporation. The strategy is a five year action plan focused on 3 categories and 11 goals as below:
1. The people and culture to increase target recruitment, cultivate and support work environments and achieve more diverse executive leadership.
2. Experiences to create safe environments for all, support underrepresented businesses and deliver DEI training schemes
3. Marketing to identify new audiences, grow partnerships, and represent partnerships in marketing plans.
David reflected on several current issues concerning DEI that require attention, namely lack of diversity, specifically at senior levels, and further training for service teams. Accordingly, The DEI strategy at The Travel Corporation aims to support underrepresented businesses and present diversity in marketing strategies as a priority.
The 'Pathways Project' respectively, intends to recruit and train underrepresented individuals to pursue careers in travel, for example, tour guides roles from diverse cultural heritage backgrounds. Providing a place to work and thrive and reassuring guests from different backgrounds that they are welcome is the core of their DEI strategy. The ‘Journey Along Civil Rights Trail’ is an another example focused on diverse product development. the experience takes the visitor on a trail of experiences of the civil right movement in America narrated by the locals.
Additionally, the DEI strategy aims to articulate Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity message engagingly. Hence, the Travel Corporation has partnered with the US Travel brands and the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association to make travel inclusive to broader social demographics and ensure different communities travel under their terms. The 'Get your Pride on in 2022 with Contiki', the DEI strategy aimed to celebrate LGBTQ+ history by hosting pride events across European cities and reaching new audiences.
1. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategies support work environments by accommodating all staff and opening doors to new audiences and representing the underrepresented.
2. DEI marketing strategies are an attempt to solve problems in the industry that concern staff, management and industry offerings.
A seasoned marketer specialising in travel and lifestyle brand partnerships, David has 15 years marketing experience and has spent the last 3 years developing marketing partnerships across The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) portfolio of brands including Trafalgar, Contiki, Uniworld and Insight Vacations. More here.
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