Integrating DEIB into Tourism and Incentives: Part 1 - Overcoming challenges in developing effective DEIB strategies

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging remain an evolving, critical consideration in the travel industry, especially when planning events and incentive travel. To that end, Destination Canada and SITE hosted a webinar featuring four industry leaders to discuss both the challenges and the solutions that arise when working to make travel and tourism welcoming and inclusive for all. The speakers were:Jeffrey Fehr, Client Engagement Manager, Business Events for Destination CanadaSantiago Aguirre, Co-Founder of Around the Table Consulting Group, which runs DEIB initiatives in the corporate sectorCate Banfield, President of Wynford, a leading Canadian Incentive Travel and Experiential Event agencyJason Fajardo, Development Manager, US Association Market · Québec City Business DestinationC&IT attended. In this two-part summary, we look at the key takeaways from the event. 'We can't just be ticking boxes': make DEIB strategy part of every aspect of business planningJason Fajardo: ‘The world is getting smaller, we need to learn to work together. DEIB needs to be authentic, you can’t just be ticking boxes. Marginalised communities really need to feel safe within these spaces.’ That starts, he explained, ‘As early as job descriptions - making sure people realise it's a DEI inclusive workspace. And then within the interview, asking, ‘What do you believe about DEI?’ Top-down, ground up It’s also important, he said, to look at an organisation’s leadership and ask if all the leaders look the same - people need to see themselves reflected in the management structure. Talk to your staff, he advised. If you ask them their feelings about DEIB, you may find particular staff members who are passionate about specific areas and can help contribute to the business in that area. ‘People can sense when things are authentic or not, and if you’re paying it lip service you almost make it worse,’ he explained. It’s not a tick-box exercise. What are the challenges of integrating DEIB into an organisation?In the first instance, Santiago Aguirre explained, integrating DEIB can be challenging if a business doesn't know why they're tackling it. He said: ‘Culture is a very complex human issue. One of the things that we constantly run into is many of the organisations we work with don’t fully understand their intentions, or what they’re ‘solving’. Sometimes there's uncertainty and understanding about why they're doing this… to do it right, you have to truly believe in it, and firstly you have to understand it.‘So companies need to ask themselves, what they are trying to solve. Why are you doing this?’ He said once strategies are in place, they can’t be static. ‘It's a challenge that we see: there is a lack of active listening. And that's something that can easily be solved through training and ongoing discussion.' In short, make sure your company's approach to DEIB is iterative, responsive, and evolves. Show leaders the data on how DEIB helps business Santiago continued: ‘There is one other thing that we constantly run into, and it's resistance to change.'There are a lot of people who just don't wanna change how things are done. They don’t wanna change how things are structured or don't want to implement certain programs that could improve DEIB and work culture in an organization.’One of the keys to overcoming this resistance, Santiago said, is through a data-driven approach. ‘Data-driven approaches can help a lot of leaders that are resistant or hesitant to change to soften up and understand that this can be beneficial to the organizations and goals, and to the organisation, to stay true to the organisation's values.’ Don't let DEIB champions be siloed Jeffrey added that one challenge is that DEIB can become siloed - it can fall to a single committee, or a company champion, rather than being integrated throughout the organisation. The counter to that is to ensure you have DEIB champions or representatives within every company department. By doing so you can often learn about issues you may not have previously identified. Jeffery mentioned his workplace, Destination Canada, where, by having DEIB champions on the translation team, they were able to identify the unique challenges of translating gender-neutral language into French, which is a tri-gendered language. The lesson, he noted, was that those people's unique knowledge allowed them to address a specific critical DEIB issue. The more people within an organisation working on DEIB, the better the chance of finding a solution to specific problems.

Integrating DEIB into Tourism and Incentives: Part 1 - Overcoming challenges in developing effective DEIB strategies

Representing the nation: Approaching the scale and complexity of a big overseas event

Integrating DEIB into Tourism and Incentives: Part 2 - sourcing diverse destinations and making programs accessible

3 new event destinations that offer short flights, value for money and incredible experiences

Integrating DEIB into Tourism and Incentives: Part 1 - Overcoming challenges in developing effective DEIB strategies

Representing the nation: Approaching the scale and complexity of a big overseas event

Integrating DEIB into Tourism and Incentives: Part 2 - sourcing diverse destinations and making programs accessible

3 new event destinations that offer short flights, value for money and incredible experiences

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