Blacks in Travel & Tourism

09/16/2025

✨ A New Chapter Begins ✨

I am excited to step into a journey that has been many years in the making — the path to becoming Dr. Stephanie M. Jones. This season of my life is about more than pursuing a degree. It is about honoring the sacrifices, prayers, and resilience of those who came before me, and carrying forward the legacy of service and impact that has always been my calling.

For over 25 years, I have built my life around entrepreneurship, equity, and empowering underrepresented voices in tourism and beyond. Along the way, I have learned that education is not just about books or classrooms. It is about courage, innovation, and the belief that we can change systems to make them more just and equitable.

As I begin this doctoral journey, I am filled with gratitude — for my family, my friends, and those who continue to inspire me. This is not just my journey. It is our journey.

I invite you to pray for me, encourage me, and hold me accountable as I take this step of faith. The road will not always be easy, but I know the destination will be worth it.

Here’s to perseverance, purpose, and the promise of what lies ahead.

08/29/2025

This is a Teachable Moment. What I’m Learning about Myself.

With all that’s happening around us—the unrest and wars in the world, the daily disruptive distractions of our current administration, the heartbreaking continuation of mass shootings and loss of innocent lives, economic instability of families and businesses, and the many uncertainties that confront us daily —it can feel overwhelming to navigate the weight of it all.

But I believe moments like these, as heavy and disorienting as they are, can also be teachable moments. They force us to pause, reflect, and ask:
• Who am I becoming through this?
• How do I respond when life feels chaotic and uncertain?
• What anchors me when the noise of the world feels deafening?

For me, I’m learning that clarity doesn’t come from the headlines—it comes from slowing down, praying, meditating, listening to my inner voice, and choosing what truly matters in how I show up each day for myself first, then for others.

I’m reminded that resilience is not about ignoring the storm, but about standing in it with grace, faith, and courage.

This isn’t easy. It asks us to confront our fears, our doubts, and our hopes all at once. But perhaps that’s exactly the point: to uncover strength we didn’t know we had, and to deepen our sense of purpose in the process of still becoming…

So I’ll leave you with the question I’m sitting with: In this teachable moment, what are you learning about yourself as a person and leader, and how will this guide your choices for self-preservation and decisions that impact others and the world?

08/24/2025

Why Museums’ Missions Matter Most Now

In this moment, when the current administration attempts to erase and whitewash America’s Black history, our museums stand as truth-keepers and cultural stewards.

I know this personally. In 1997, I helped birth the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit as its Director of Marketing & PR. For the past 12 years, I’ve worked to drive tourism and visibility to local African American museums—because they are not just institutions, they are vessels of our ancestors’ voices.

But erasure is violence. To dismantle history is to dismantle identity. We cannot allow it. We cannot remain silent and ignore it!

➡️ Museum leaders must hold their ground and lean into diversification of revenue sources to rely less on federal funding.
➡️ Educators, celebrities, and influencers must leverage their platforms to amplify and drive awareness and support to these cultural heritage gems.
➡️ Brands and foundations must fund and defend them.
➡️ And we must all show up—visiting, supporting, and advocating.

Museums’ missions matter most because they safeguard what others seek to silence.

08/15/2025

Join us! Register today!

Africa Hotel Industry and Investment Summit 2025. August 20.
Institute of Tourism starts several initiatives aimed at poverty reduction and tourism development in Africa, with a focus on sustainable development and inclusive growth. These efforts are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. Key strategies include promoting tourism growth and tourism investments (domestic & international), Investing in education, skills development, women empowerment, networking and access to international market & African diaspora tourism.
Info & free Registration: https://institutetourism.com/africa-hotel-industry

07/23/2025

🚨 Partnership Announcement + Webinar Invitation 🌍

We’re proud to announce a formal strategic partnership between Disrupt for Change and the Institute of Tourism, uniting our efforts to advance social sustainability, equity, and inclusive tourism development across the global travel and tourism industry.

Together, we’re launching initiatives that center underrepresented small and micro-enterprises (SMEs), cultural institutions, and community stakeholders in shaping the future of tourism.

To kick off this exciting collaboration, we invite you to join us for a powerful global webinar:

🎙️ The State of Social Sustainability in Building Inclusive Destinations and Supply Chains
📅 Tuesday, July 29, 2025
🕐 1:00 PM EST
🔗 Register at www.institutetourism.com/socialsustainability

This solutions-driven conversation will feature global leaders from community tourism, academia, sustainability, chambers of commerce, and SME development organizations—sharing what it really takes to move from intention to impact.

If you’re a tourism board, DMO, brand, policymaker, or educator working at the intersection of ESG, CSR, and destination stewardship, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Let’s build a tourism future that is not only sustainable—but socially just.

07/23/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLneTJ9I6x-/?igsh=YzNnbWtkaGNqa3o0

07/09/2025

What Truth-Telling Stories Would Underrepresented SMEs and Communities Share with Policymakers About their Destination?

The recent proposal to cut Brand USA’s budget by 80% is a wake-up call for every destination. This isn’t just about losing federal marketing dollars—it’s about the story our industry is failing to tell.

Are policymakers hearing from local, underrepresented small businesses and communities about how tourism has helped them grow, hire, and stay rooted in place? Or are they only seeing glossy ad campaigns and visitor numbers?

Read more in my Travel Weekly OpEd.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Articles/Impact-storytelling-matters-more-than-ever.

07/04/2025

Tourism Can Be a Tool for Equity.

When done right, tourism isn’t just about travel.
It’s about jobs. Business growth. Cultural preservation.

At the Diversity Tourism Academy, we teach how to turn passion into profit and cultural heritage into economic development. Whether you lead tours, run a museum, or serve food & beverage, house visitors, cut or style hair, own a shop, provide transportation, create art, curate diverse activities and experiences —you belong in the global tourism conversation.

💼 Let’s shift the industry together.
Start with our free Industry 101 course as an introduction to the global travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. Enroll today! — link in bio.
Follow us

07/04/2025

What Makes the Diversity Tourism Academy Different?

Most tourism education programs weren’t built for us. That’s why we built our own.

The Diversity Tourism Academy is the first on-demand learning platform designed specifically for underrepresented tourism & hospitality SMEs, cultural institutions, aspiring entrepreneurs and students.

✅ Industry-specific training
✅ Real-world strategies
✅ Built by us, for us

Tourism is global. Opportunity should be too.
✨ Start learning today — link in bio. Follow up

06/26/2025

Please join me this evening on the “Talking Business” podcast with discussing
Cultural tourism, Black-owned travel businesses, and equitable tourism access.

Tune in Thursday, June 26, 5:30PM as we speak to Stephanie Jones, CEO of Disrupt for Change and Founder of Diversity Tourism Academy.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justtalkingbusiness/

Stephanie Jones has spent over a decade advocating for small Black tourism businesses and underserved communities. Discover how her mission fuels cultural tourism, creates economic opportunity, and reshapes the global tourism industry—one community at a time. Learn how she’s building sustainability, profitability, and equity across the $9+ trillion global travel economy.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to support more business-building conversations.

06/26/2025

Introducing Disrupt for Change - Follow us

Creating pathways for sustainability, scalability & profitability for underrepresented tourism & hospitality SMEs and cultural museums

At Disrupt for Change, we’re reimagining how the global travel and tourism industry educates, equips, and connects underrepresented tourism & hospitality small and micro-enterprises (SMEs) and cultural attractions. Our mission is to close the opportunity gap, making the industry more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable for all through industry-specific tourism education. Join or partner with Academy today! Link in bio.
businesses

05/25/2025

What’s next for me? Both personally and professionally… I’m stepping fully into what lights me up.

Personally, I’m embracing a new chapter as the curator of self-care and joyful living retreats for women over 50 through my passion project, . After years of pouring into others, this is about reclaiming rest, luxury, and unapologetic joy. I’m designing experiences that nurture the mind, body, and soul in beautiful destinations around the world.

If you’re ready to prioritize YOU, I’d love for you to join the journey. Learn more and join the waitlist at:
https://lnkd.in/etqZEEhz

Professionally, with the official sunset of CHEA, I’ve made space for to rise. This next phase brings together my work in consulting, research, and education to disrupt the status quo and help build a more inclusive, equitable and accessible tourism industry—especially for underrepresented tourism and hospitality SMEs and cultural museums globally. Learn more at www.disruptforchange.com.

This next chapter is bold, intentional, and deeply aligned. I look forward to sharing more about both of these ventures.

Let’s connect if you want to work together, co-create impact, or simply celebrate this new season with me.