This is a virtual Zoom panel discussion about how we can reset and rebuild travel in the travel industry through diversity. This will give participants a glimpse into what they can anticipate the 2020 VR Travel Unity Summit in October.
What is an American? This question is being defined by an increasingly diverse population; this panel discussion will delve into what being an American means through the prism of the tourism industry and current events.
If you missed the panel, you can watch the recap below:
The panel featured the following:
Confirmed Moderator: K. J. Matthews is an accomplished Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist, media trainer, and public speaker. K.J. is has worked with CNN, BBC, DWNews, CNNI, ExtraTV, CBS news, and ABCnews.
Confirmed Panelists:
1.Mike Schibel- Founder of Travel with Meaning and the Host of Travel Talks.
2. Imani Bashir- Journalist and Author of coloring book series entitled, “Follow the Takeoff Toddler.” She also released an ebook for people interested in knowing about living abroad, how to make the move and how to adjust which is entitled, “Pack Your Sh*t: The Ultimate Guide to Moving & Adjusting to Life Abroad.
3. Ernest White II- Journalist, Storyteller, and Host of a travel show on PBS, Fly Brother.
4. Kristen Gill- Award-winning writer and photographer Kristen Gill produces content for various publications such as The Guardian, Seattle Times, BBC, NPR, Travel Weekly, and more. Featured as a travel expert on MSN, CBS Travel, and BBC’s “The World.”
5.Latifah Al-Hazza- Emmy award-winning travel journalist as well as the Cofounder of Femscape Sojourns, a boutique women’s travel company. Her work can be read in CNN Travel, The New York Times, Frommer’s Travel Guides, and World Travel Magazine, to name a few.
6. Jeannette Ceja- TV Host, Travel Journalist, Global Public Speaker, and Founder of Jet Set with Jeannette.
7. Jessica Blotter- CEO & Co-Founder of Kind Traveler, a keynote speaker, and journalist on sustainable tourism, and serves on the Board of Directors for CREST (Center for Responsible Travel) in Washington, DC. The moment she discovered the love of travel can’t be separated from the state of the world after witnessing devastating poverty on a trip to Belize, she wondered how the travel industry could be harnessed to benefit local communities, the environment, and animals. This experience led her and her co-founder to harness their entrepreneurial backgrounds to launch KindTraveler.com, the first socially conscious Give + Get hotel booking and sustainable travel media platform empowering travelers to positively impact the destinations they visit. As of 2020, Kind Traveler represents 120+ hotels and 70+ charities in 15 countries and was a recipient of Travel + Leisure’s 2020 Global Vision Award. She holds an M.A. in Education from Ottawa University and a B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University. She currently resides in Manhattan Beach, California. Find inspiration to do more than travel on KindTraveler.com
8. Matt Paco- A Video Content Producer for Lonely Planet. He also owns D’Andrews Bakery & Cafe, which he started in 2018 with his husband in Nashville, TN. Previously, Matt was the Executive Producer of WSMV’s “News 4 Today” morning show, which won the 2018 Regional Emmy for Best Morning Broadcast. He has also worked as a producer for NBC, MSNBC, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, PBS, LOGO, and Fuse in New York City. Currently, Matt is on the board of directors of Saddle Up. He is also the Co-Chair of the Chukkers For Charity Polo Match & Classic Car Show, which benefits Saddle Up and the Rochelle Center – two Tennessee nonprofits that help children and adults with disabilities. Matt graduated from the University of Virginia where he majored in International Relations.
The panel will tackle issues like cultural assimilation vs pluralism and nationalism. The panelists, all tourism professionals, will weigh in on what it means to be an American traveling in foreign countries, as well as, how their unique identities could be leveraged to serve as a fulcrum for innovative growth and change within the travel industry.
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