D.C. Acknowledged for Progressive Strategy to DEI

Washington D.C., represented by Vacation spot DC, has been acknowledged for its variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on the 2023 GDS-Awards. The vacation spot obtained the GDS-Motion Innovation Award for using modern options to reinforce sustainability efficiency.

This yr marks the eighth annual version of the awards, revealed on the GDS-Discussion board in Valencia, Spain, that are a partnership between the World Vacation spot Sustainability Motion (GDS-Motion) and the Worldwide Congress and Conference Affiliation (ICCA).

“Vacation spot DC is thrilled to win the GDS-Motion Innovation Award and honored to be acknowledged for Vacation spot DC’s DEI Fellowship program as a sustainable and constructive resolution in hospitality,” mentioned Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO of Vacation spot DC.

Recognizing DEI Management

Targeted on socio-economic fairness, the DEI Fellowship Program offers help and sources to small companies throughout the native journey and tourism business owned by individuals of shade, ladies, members of the LGBTQ+ group, and other people with disabilities. The annual cohort welcomed 36 new companies to the fellowship in January.

“The Vacation spot DC sustainability committee utilized to the GDS-Index to see how we stacked up,” Ferguson mentioned. “We wished to have a look at all aspects of DEI and focus extra on people who find themselves underrepresented,” he mentioned, including that his group additionally sought to display that D.C. is a vacation spot that constantly focuses on sustainability. “We wished for instance that D.C. as a vacation spot is aligned with the values of the index and that we apply what we preach.”

The Fellowship is only one component of Vacation spot DC’s DEI District. This modern content material hub permits guests to have interaction extra deeply with the vacation spot. The hub encourages guests to go to inclusive sights, find out about empowering college students and youth, meet extra equitably, and have interaction with technical coaching applications and workforce improvement initiatives.

Washington, D.C. beat out 5 different finalists within the innovation in sustainability benchmark class. The shortlist featured the Canadian cities of Banff and Edmonton; Bordeaux, France; Gothenburg, Sweden; and Tempere, Finland. 

Elevated Neighborhood, Elevated Occasions

“By partaking intently with our vacation spot’s smaller companies and group members we are able to guarantee firms that don’t have the monetary wherewithal can benefit from alternatives to get a bit of the pie that’s the $8 billion hospitality business in D.C. alone,” Ferguson mentioned. 

So as to nurture and maintain these companies, Vacation spot DC offers networking alternatives, schooling, mentorship, and complimentary advertising delivered by connecting collaborating companies with leisure and enterprise vacationers. 

“It’s an incredible group that’s achieved loads to assist my enterprise,” mentioned Roger Sherman, proprietor of The District Pit, a neighborhood eatery that makes a speciality of BBQ and Southern consolation meals, including that the DEI Fellowship program allowed him to make the most of Vacation spot DC’s advertising sources. “Earlier than connecting with Vacation spot DC’s fellowship program, I used to be advertising solely by word-of-mouth,” he mentioned, including that as a small enterprise, he usually needed to e-book his subsequent consumer in the course of the occasion he was catering on the time. 

What’s extra, Sherman says that this system has helped in garnering enterprise from outdoors the D.C. space, together with the Carolinas, Texas, and Kansas Metropolis – all of which pleasure themselves on a deeply-rooted bar-b-que tradition. “The fellowship has helped me improve my enterprise by 10-15% over the past yr,” he mentioned. “Which may not sound like loads, however it’s nice for a small enterprise.” Having solely been in enterprise for 5 years, Sherman mentioned it’s been very useful networking with older companies by the fellowship. 

“We’re actually positioning issues for occasions to work together with native companies,” Ferguson mentioned. “We not solely need to appeal to occasions and conventions to the world, however we need to present a superb expertise for attendees – we’re very happy with what we’ve been in a position to accomplish.”

U.S. Lagging on Sustainability Management

In 2021 and 2022, no U.S. locations aside from D.C. took half within the GSD-Index. This yr, Tucson, Arizona, and Fast Metropolis, South Dakota additionally joined. In distinction, 20 Canadian cities are a part of this yr’s index, 17 of which joined for the primary time.

Ferguson believes the shortage of concentrate on vacation spot sustainability may very well be detrimental to the U.S. occasions market.

“If we’ve a overseas group on the town for an occasion and we offer them with a present that’s closely wrapped in plastic, for instance, then we’re going to look fairly tone-deaf in our messaging,” he mentioned. “It additionally makes good enterprise sense,” including, “We as a vacation spot are prone to e-book extra occasions if our friends know that we’re a sustainable metropolis.” 

Whereas the occasions business regularly mentioned sustainability and DEI, Ferguson says they haven’t been a precedence for all locations. “The U.S. expects the federal authorities to hold out efforts in sustainability, however it’s going to take higher participation from all states,” he mentioned, including that areas which are lively in selling sustainable measures usually count on others to comply with swimsuit. “If there aren’t any efforts in sustainability, occasions won’t get booked.”