WTTC: New Guidelines for Inclusion and Diversity in Travel and Tourism Businesses

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on Tuesday launched its new high-level guidelines for inclusion and diversity in the Travel & Tourism sector, which have been compiled to support businesses of all sizes and provide an inclusive work environment for all employees.

According to the WTTC, research has shown that supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace companies experience benefits such as greater profitability, increased creativity and innovation, and a happier workforce.

“The Travel & Tourism sector is one of the most diverse in the world, employing people from all socio-economic backgrounds regardless of age, gender or ethnicity, with almost 50 percent of whom are women and up to 30 percent youths,” said WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara.

The “Inclusion & Diversity Guidelines”, which were compiled from insights and frameworks developed by private sector leaders in Travel & Tourism, leading DMOs, industry organisations and major associations from other key sectors, are divided into four pillars:

• Developing a Supportive System
• Creating Safe Spaces
• Supporting an Agile System
• Exemplifying Inclusion & Diversity

Guevara pointed out that throughout its very nature, the Travel & Tourism sector promotes cultural exchange and understanding,

“Therefore it makes perfect sense for the sector to reflect these values within the workplace as well. We look forward to seeing these guidelines make real change within the workforce,” she added.

Examples of the guidelines include:

• Having a clear, transparent, and bias-free framework that determines how staff are remunerated and how increases are calculated.
• Integrating diversity and inclusion goals within regional and department objectives.
• Incorporating diversity and inclusion into organisational values and in all aspects of the business. Celebrate commitment to diversity and inclusion, provide frameworks to guide behaviour/champion fairness, reward successful demonstration of diversity and inclusion values, and create accountability, among others.
• Providing a safe space for employees to share their feedback, over time, on the organisation and their experience of it.
• Creating an environment that facilitates difficult but respectful conversation about diversity and inclusion.
• Ensuring that decisions made about a certain demographic have members of that demographic in the room, wherever possible, empowering these individuals to share honest feedback and experiences
• Having inclusive marketing, media and communication standards to dignify representation of all people, elevate authentic voice, avoid cultural appropriation and recognise dynamic diversity and intersectionality.
• Engaging regularly, where possible, with industry bodies and local governments to share visitor feedback on diversity and inclusion, thus enabling the destination to enhance customer experiences in the future.
• Collaborating with pertinent groups and communities around products that relate to local indigenous cultures.

Contributors to the “Inclusion & Diversity Guidelines” include Hilton, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Travel Unity, a non-profit organisation focused on increasing diversity in the world of travel.

To read the Inclusion & Diversity Guidelines in full, click here.