Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544721
tative analysis is essential to ensuring that mar- keting messages are disseminated in a way that produces results. "We use a couple different platforms that measure how we pitch to potential visitors and how those pitches convert to actual visits, whether it's from our website, or whether it's from our advertising placement," Thigpen says. Sheila Alexander-Reid is Executive Director of Diversity for the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more than 30 years, the bureau has operated a program called PHL Diversity, which con- nects meeting planners to local diverse busi- nesses and community leaders—incuding those presenting Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQIA+, women and faith-based com- munities. Philadelphia's destination marketers have long recognized that superficial market- ing tactics don't work. "You can't just put a Black face on a brochure and think that that's going to resonate," Alexander-Reid says. "That's performative ver- sus intentional. You have to do the work. You have to get in-depth connections with your community." What Effective Ethnic Marketing Looks Like Alexander-Reid thinks most destinations approach ethnic marketing the wrong way. "They treat African-American travelers and meeting planners as a niche to be marketed to, rather than a community to be genuinely con- nected with," she says. "What I've seen work in Philadelphia is lead- ing with cultural authenticity," Alexander-Reid continues. "African-American meeting planners and conference organizers are choosing destina- tions not just on room blocks and convention center square footage. They're asking me, 'Will my attendees feel welcome there, and will they feel seen? Is there something here that reflects our excellence, our history, our present-day achievements?'" She answers those questions by pointing to Philadelphia's deep Black music heritage, groundbreaking culinary scene and long history of African-American achievement. "When I'm presenting to a meeting planner, I can speak to the cultural experiences that their attendees will have outside of the convention center just as fluently as I speak to room rates and breakout space," Alexander-Reid says. "That outside experience—the music, the food, the history, the vibrancy—is often what closes the deal." Mercedes Miller, President of the five-city Atlanta Airport District, says her organiza- tion has had success tapping local social media influencers, like the publisher of The Black Girl's Guide to Atlanta, to draw visitor interest. A notable win was bringing the basketball tourna- ment of Southwestern Athletic Conference, made up of historically Black colleges and uni- versities, to the District's Gateway Center Arena in 2025. "They bought up 2,000 guest rooms in the District," Miller says. "They shopped here, they ate here, and we really did a lot to push it out for them and to give them incentives to come to our area." In Jackson, Thigpen says promoting city landmarks that are part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, along with unique attractions like the International Museum of Muslim Cultures— the first of its kind in the United States—fig- ures prominently in the marketing message to ethnic travelers. While noting that the Mississippi Tourism Office is "in lock step" with the Jackson CVB in cultivating this mar- ket, he says the reality of the political landscape has influenced his strategy in advocating for greater outreach. "My region is very blue, but my state is very red," Thigpen says. "So in our current political environment, I've leaned on not DEI but eco- nomic impact. And I think that that's some- thing that we have had to lean into more as an industry." Supporting Diverse Industry Businesses and Workforces Not only do ethnic travelers want opportu- nities to experience the heritage and culture of local communities like their own, they also want businesses in those communities to receive some of the benefits of their travel spending. At Destination DC, that's one of the goals of the DEI Business Fellowship program. Targeting small, independent businesses owned by people of color, LGBTQ+ individu- als, women, people with disabilities and their allies, the one-year fellowship provides compli- mentary membership in Destination DC, along with marketing, mentorship, education and networking opportunities. "One ongoing challenge is helping small and diverse-owned businesses scale to meet the demands of large meetings and conventions," Ferguson says. "That takes time, resources and continued investment." Thigpen adds that helping those businesses improve their chances of landing large event contracts often involves a bit of coaching. "I've met with minority vendors and said, 'You know, I'm sorry you didn't get that,'" Thigpen says. "And I talk to them about why they didn't get the bid, so that the next time they bid, their proposal can be much stronger." Alexander-Reid notes that the Philadelphia CVB program PHL Diversity got its start in 1987 as the Multicultural Affairs Congress, which had a two-fold purpose. "It was not just to make sure that we were reaching out to the Black or African-American market," Alexander-Reid says, "but to also make sure that African- American businesses were connected to the convention center, connected to the hotels, con- nected to all these expos that take place. We wanted to make sure that the community bene- fited." At the Atlanta Airport District, Miller finds that one of the most impactful ways to pro- mote local Black-owned businesses to Black travelers is to tell their stories. "I think the best stories that we can tell are the human stories, where people have family-owned businesses, or people started from the bottom," she says. "So it's kind of been our effort to tell their B M & T ••• May/June 2026 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 27