Travel Professionals of Color (TPOC) has forged a
partnership with host agency KHM Travel Group, giving TPOC members access to
KHM’s training and tools and members of both organizations access to membership
discounts.
Betty Jones, TPOC’s president and the owner of CB Jones
Travel and Events in Savannah, Ga., said the organization had been looking for
a host agency to align with, one with which “we would feel comfortable that our
people would get the support that they needed.”
While issues of diversity and inclusion have garnered
national attention lately, the partnership between KHM and TPOC had been in the
works for some time.
KHM, based in Brunswick, Ohio, and No. 40 on Travel Weekly’s
2020 Power List, stood out for several reasons. First and foremost, Jones said,
was the training it offers members. That will now be available for TPOC’s
membership base.
Jones was also impressed with another KHM initiative: its
Diversity and Inclusion Committee, created in 2017.
The committee’s goal, according to KHM, is “to increase the
representation of agents and clients within KHM Travel Group and the travel
industry as a whole.” It is led by Craig Freeman, KHM’s business optimization
executive.
TPOC also has a long history with Anita Pagliasso, KHM’s
vice president of industry relations.
Pagliasso has spoken at several of TPOC’s conferences and
has supported the group and the market it represents, which she called both “huge”
and “underrepresented.”
A 2018 study by Mandala Research found that African American
travelers contributed $63 billion to the U.S. travel and tourism economy that
year, up from $48 billion in 2010.
“We’re really excited to form this kind of partnership where
we can represent and recommend TPOC for a lot of the African American community
and the African American agents who are part of KHM, as well,” Pagliasso said.
Pagliasso’s support of TPOC began when she ran Ticket to
Travel, a host agency based in San Jose, Calif. Pagliasso decided to merge with
KHM this January. She introduced Jones to KHM and, after meetings between the
host and TPOC’s board, the partnership was finalized.
“We just felt like this would be a good fit for us, and in
turn we would send people to [KHM], those who need a host agency,” Jones said. “And
by the same token, they offer a lot of webinars and training and so forth that
we would be able to offer to our members.”
While KHM will remain TPOC’s sole host agency partnership,
Jones said the organization is interested in partnering with other industry
players, such as suppliers.
Like the rest of the industry, TPOC member agencies have
been dealing with the coronvirus’ impact on travel. Jones said she is
encouraging them to use the time to refocus and learn everything they can,
especially related to domestic travel.
“We have been emphasizing to our members to really get into
the heritage and history, because regardless of whether or not the [Caribbean]
islands open back up or you can travel back to Europe or internationally, there
are so many things to see here in the U.S.,” she said.