Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/44484
Publisher's Message "NABHOOD News," the other new department, will keep our readers abreast of the activities of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers. Each column, authored by longtime contributor Michael Bennett, will include a lead story about NABHOOD (in this issue, it reports on the recent NABHOOD Summit and Trade Show in Miami), as well as a NABHOOD member profile, a vendor profile, and a lodging indus- try calendar of events, among other things. The returning "Association News" serves a twofold purpose – promoting the good work of the organizations covered, and hopefully helping to increase membership and conference attendance – and providing destina- tions and venues valuable information they can utilize when mining for new M.I.C.E. business. Returning as "Association News" editor is Penelope Blair, who will report on five to six African-American conventions in each column, including information about past and future destinations, upcoming open conference dates, accommodation and exhibit space needs, as well as other pertinent organizational profile facts. Still more new departments will begin with the November/December I am pleased to announce two impor- tant departments that are debuting in this issue of Black Meetings & Tourism – "Meeting the Needs of Your Meeting" and "NABHOOD News" – as well as the return of a new and improved version of "Association News," one of our more popular columns that was put on hold severalmonths ago for retooling. "Meeting the Needs ofYourMeeting," written by veteran BM&T editorDarlene Donloe, provides the perfect platform for us to offer much needed information to meeting and incentive planners, as well as to association executives, about destina- tions and venues thatmay fit the needs of their individual groups. Each column will briefly profile four destinations and include the most pertinent details about accommodations,meeting facilities,attrac- tions, recreational opportunities, access and contact information, among other things, that planners need to know when choosing a location for their conference, meeting or other event. issue – a "Sports Tourism" column and a "Heritage Tourism" column. The former will report on the activities of major sports organizations, like the National Brotherhood of Skiers, National Association of Black Scuba Divers, International Federation of Black Bass Anglers, and the American Tennis Association, as well as a host of other African-American sports organizations whose memberships include Black golfers, softball players and bowlers, to name a few. The column will also highlight destinations that are particularly well equipped to handle sports tourism, like Myrtle Beach, Miami and Indianapolis, for example. The "Heritage Tourism" column could not be more timely, as we head towards 2012, which has been declared as the year of African-American Heritage Tourism Travel. This department will explore the many cities and regions, both domestically and internationally, that have developed and pro- mote a Black heritage tourism product, like Birmingham, AL, Baltimore, MD, Trinidad & Tobago, Columbia, SC, Detroit, MI, and Barbados, to name few. It will also report on organizations and travel agents that specialize in heritage tourism trips, such as Nubian Tours, Henderson Travel, African Travel Seminars and Venue International Professionals (V.I.P.), for instance. Additionally, it will share information about Travel Professionals of Color (TPOC), which has a heritage tourism certification program for travel agents, as well as a similar program for certifying destinations. Our object with all of these new and returning departments, as well as others in development, is to provide ever increasing valuable information for our audience of planners, travel agents, tour operators, group travel lead- ers, DMOs and other meeting/travel/hospitality industry professionals. The more knowledgeable they are, the more successful they can be in their indi- vidual and collective endeavors, which we believe can only serve to help revitalize this industry we all serve, and provide more jobs, increased vendor opportunities (especially for small businesses), and increase wealth in our community. Solomon J. Herbert Publisher/Editor-in-Chief E-Mail: BM&TMag@aol.com Black Meetings & Tourism is published bi-monthly by SunGlo Enterprises, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207 •Telephone: (818)709-0646/Fax: (818) 709-4753 Copyright 2011 by SunGlo Enterprises. All rights reserved. Single Copies, $6.00 Subscriptions $45.00. Postage Paid at Pasadena, CA. •Postmaster send address changes to Black Meetings & Tourism, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207. 4 Black Meetings & Tourism September/October 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com