Checking in on cultural tourism business since last year’s competition
Backed by an all-star team of judges, the Miami Herald has launched its annual Startup Pitch Competition for 2021. Entries are due March 2. Find out about the judges and how to enter at miami herald.com/news/business/ business-plan-challenge.
In the run-up to this year’s event, we’re checking in with last year’s winners. In 2020, Stephanie Jones placed second in the FIU Track with Cultural Heritage Alliance for Tourism. We spoke with her recently about how her company has adapted to the COVID world.
MIAMI HERALD: How did your business change over the past year?
STEPHANIE JONES: We have pivoted to focus on the lack of inin clusiveness in the industry. Despite travel and tourism having one of the most diverse consumer markets, there is a major lack of diversity in leadership and business ownership. So we decided to start creating technology to advance Black and brown tourism and Black and brown executives. We have launched Black Tourism Talent, a directory of top professionals; and the National Blacks in Travel & Tourism Collaborative, as a way to bring together industry allies so that more equitable opportunities can be made accessible and so that people can participate in the industry when it rebounds.
We are also launching Culture onShore, the world’s first global marketplace for cultural heritage tours and activities that are led by local tour and activity operators, tour guides and cultural institutions the U.S., Caribbean and international destinations.
And our Diversity Tourism Academy learning management platform is designed to help build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive industry.
MH: What impact did COVID-19 have on your business?
SJ: Amid the pandemic and the collapse in travel and tourism, we were no longer booking tour experiences. That allowed us to step back and reassess the industry and the demand for our product. We ended up hiring a new development team and are launching a platform with more content and tour products.