Travel Advisor Innovation Report: Leading Life-Changing Tours for Women of Color

Is travel better than therapy? Danielle Washington, owner of Rogue Experiences, thinks so. She strives to provide her client base, primarily African-American entrepreneurial women much like herself, with highly customized getaways that are both relaxing and life-changing. Having left behind a high-powered career in the tech world, she knows only too well the need to decompress and “ditch the norm” for something more satisfying.

Washington is a good example of the way that travel advisors, for whom travel is often a second career, can draw on past experiences to reinvent themselves in a fulfilling way.

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— Maria Lenhart, Travel Advisor Editor

Featured Stories

Travel Concierge Offers Empowering Experiences for Women of Color: When Danielle Washington plans trips for busy black entrepreneurial women, she draws heavily on her own experiences. That means taking an inner journey as well.

Rail Tour Operator Rocky Mountaineer Targets Cruisers Through Agent Sales: Rocky Mountaineer relies heavily on travel advisors to sell its luxury train experiences through the Canadian Rockies, but there’s room for improvement. The rail tour company launched a new agent training program to clear up misconceptions about its model of travel.

Hotels and Meetings

Hotels Play a Bigger Role as Matchmakers With the Help of Technology: Hotels and dating apps: a match made for the digital age that shows how far hospitality is going to market experiences.

AccorHotels Balances Asset-Light and Acquisition Strategies: New Skift Research Report: With the sale of a majority stake in the company’s owned and leased hotel business, AccorHotels is a more stable, nimble company, with the ability to pursue additional acquisitions and other strategic initiatives. In our latest research report, we break down what going asset-light means for the company and tackle ways of measuring the success of its M&A strategy.

Event Planners Look Outside Major Cities for Savings and Variety: Traditional conference cities are still the default choice for events organizers, but rising costs and strained capacity are making secondary cities more appealing. And some are working hard to show their unique benefits.

Planes, Trains and Tourism

What European Rail Companies Need to Do to Boost Growth From Tourism: Rail travel is a complex beast and something the tourism industry has yet to fully embrace, but things are starting to change.

Tourism Growth in U.S. and Canada Prompts Destinations to Dig Deeper Into the Past: Travelers want to experience the stories and traditions of indigenous communities, but these communities also need more economic support to become more involved in the travel industry.

Premium Economy Isn’t Really Economy Class. Why Does It Have the Name? The premium economy cabin many global airlines are installing isn’t much like regular economy. So why do many airlines include “economy” in its name?

How 2 U.S. Airports Are Unshackling Bureaucracy to Give New Business a Try: U.S. airports can be slow to innovate. Most are run by local governments, and they’re risk-averse. It’s good to see some airports trying to take chances. Let’s see if more follow.

This Startup Is Selling Fly-by-the-Hour Airline Gift Cards: This startup has the JetBlue Tech Ventures seal of approval, which means something in the travel space. But we’re not sure why consumers would rather receive a gift card for airplane hours, than a gift card worth cash.

What the Travel Media Gets So Horribly Wrong About Africa: For being one of the most important business, political, and tourism stories, a lot of Africa coverage tends to only hit a few notes. Here are some ideas on how travel reporting can evolve, and incorporate more voices and add deeper perspectives.

Thomas Cook China Launches New Strategy Amid Huge Chinese Tourist Declines in Thailand: Japan has turned out to be the lifeboat for Thomas Cook China when Thailand turned disastrous, as the tour operator appears to be sailing away blithely with four new initiatives to scale up its China market.

Skift Travel Advisor Editor Maria Lenhart [[email protected]] curates the Skift Travel Advisor Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send her an email.