Join Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority for Tourism Summit 2022: The Future of Travel, held in conjunction with the National Travel & Tourism commemoration that takes place each year in May.

Held on Wednesday, May 18 from 12–5 p.m. at the Omni Grove Park Inn (in person for the first time since 2019!), we are pleased to bring Tourism Summit 2022 to community partners at no charge with advance registration.

Sign up today to ensure your seat at this ever-popular springtime event!

AGENDA FOR TOURISM SUMMIT 2022: THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL

12:00 – 12:30 p.m.

• DOORS OPEN / CHECK-IN

12:30 – 2:00 p.m.

• WELCOME: THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL
  Vic Isley, President & CEO of Explore Asheville & Buncombe County TDA
• MAYORAL COMMENTS
  Esther Manheimer, Mayor of the City of Asheville
• LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE: FOUNDATIONS OF STORYTELLING
  Stewart Colovin, EVP of MMGY Global Brand Strategy
  

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

• DIVERSITY TRAINING WORKSHOP: BLACK TRAVELERS
  NOMADNESS + Tourism RESET **See important note below!**
  

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

• NETWORKING RECEPTION

MORE ABOUT FOUNDATIONS OF STORYTELLING

Explore Asheville is on a journey to further define Asheville’s storytelling foundation for sustainable growth in the future. Part of that effort has been a listening tour conducted by Vic Isley, President & CEO of Explore Asheville and Stewart Colovin, Executive Vice President of MMGY Global Brand Strategy, to ensure local voices across our community and industry are represented, included and heard.

After more than 300 individual listening sessions conducted by Vic and 130 by Stew – including many individuals who we hope will be present at the Tourism Summit – Stew will share a read-out of insights and themes in this engaging session that will chart the course for the future of storytelling in travel for our community.

MORE ABOUT BLACK TRAVELERS DIVERSITY TRAINING WORKSHOP

To accelerate our community’s efforts to extend a genuine invitation to Black audiences, Explore Asheville has engaged with Evita Robinson, the globally recognized founder of NOMADNESS Travel Tribe, an online social community primarily for travelers of color with more than 29,000 international members. NOMADNESS Travel Tribe also hosts NOMADNESS Fest, an immersive experience that celebrates and creates a safe space for discussions centered around traveling the world as a person of color.

In this workshop, facilitators from NOMADNESS and Tourism RESET will present findings from their survey of 5,300 travelers from various regions, ethnic, and racial backgrounds to reflect on their travel behavior and desires. They’ll also share insights from their in-depth interviews with some of the top influencers in the Black travel movement.

Important Request!

Prior to the Tourism Summit, we are seeking your participation in the Explore Asheville Community Engagement Survey, created by NOMADNESS and Tourism RESET. This survey is designed to gain a sense of your organization’s demographics and engagement with Explore Asheville, as well as business or organizational challenges you may be facing that Explore Asheville can assist with.

This survey is 100% secure, anonymous, confidential, and optional, though we strongly encourage you to participate. With a high participation rate, we can confidently take actions that focus on ensuring Explore Asheville to be inclusive and accessible for all. This survey should take you 15 minutes or less to complete.The deadline to participate is May 4 at 6 p.m. ET.

We look forward to seeing you on May 18!