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We are the Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Regional Tourism Network, and Cincinnati Experience. Our 3 organizations work together to market the Cincinnati region as a travel destination.

Together, we know all too well the economic impact and positive interactions from Black travelers, through the annual Cincinnati Music Festivalthe National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, hosting the National Association of Black Journalists, and countless other events Cincinnati has hosted over the years.

people outside our the Cincinnati Music FestivalThat’s why our city has made an intentional, genuine, and strategic commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity, especially within our travel & tourism efforts.

We look forward to working with Black Travel Alliance as we strive to create a sense of belonging in the Cincinnati region for every visitor, no matter ethnicity, nationality, or economic status.

What follows are our metrics for the Black Travel Scorecard.

EMPLOYMENT
9 of 40 employees are Black (22.5%)
2 of 8 in management are Black (25%)
10 out of 40 employees are BIPOC (25%)
In 2019, we expanded our multicultural focus into a newly created Group Vice President, Diversity Sales & Inclusion position

PRESS
7 of the 19 journalists/influencers we hosted in 2019 were Black = 37%
BIPOC numbers for 2019 were 9 out of 19 = 47%
We are showing an upward trend:
2018 = 26% (5 out of 19)
2017 = 15% (3 out of 19)

CONFERENCES AND TRADESHOWS
We market the Cincinnati region as a place to host your conference or tradeshow, but we do not oversee the programming of these conferences, so cannot speak to Black representation on speaker panels, etc.

We DO, however, aggressively seek diverse meetings for our city. Our Diversity & Inclusion Team attends and supports industry trade shows including Connect Diversity, Congressional Black Caucus, and National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals.

In 2019, Cincinnati hosted and sponsored the National Newspaper Publishers Association (“The Black Press”) and the National Association of Black Journalists Regional Conference.

In addition, we work to connect visitors attending multi-cultural events with our local vendors, restaurants and artists through our VIBE events.

PAID ADVERTISING/MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Our 3 organizations believe that Black faces in our owned and paid media efforts should not be gratuitous. In addition to capturing photos and footage of actual live events and activities in our region, we are happy to support and promote local Black entrepreneurs as well as pay for models’ time and talent. We are proud to represent the diverse culture in which we live. We have not tracked numbers and percentages, but we invite you to take a look and let us know how we can be better:

Cincinnati Experience Regional Tourism Network Convention and Visitors Bureau Cincinnati Experience Instagram Cincinnati Regional Tourism Instagram Cincinnati Experience Youtube Cincinnati Regional Tourism Youtube

PHILANTHROPY
Dan Lincoln Institute for Hospitality Leadership is an initiative to increase skilled and diverse talent in the hospitality sector. By implementing innovative curriculum into our schools, colleges and hospitality businesses,Cincinnati is building a diverse workforce that is both grounded and visionary.

Supplier Diversity Commitment: We believe that our supplier base should reflect the markets and customers we serve, so we have a yearly organizational goal to increase spending with small, women-owned and BIPOC-owned businesses. We strive to increase business opportunities for diverse suppliers while maintaining procedural integrity with purchasing practices that are fair and transparent.

OTHER
Reciprocal Memberships with the African American and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce: To ensure business opportunities and equity for BIPOC-owned and supported businesses, our membership model includes a greatly reduced rate for businesses that are members of these organizations.

Black Travel Alliance,
The Cincinnati region invites you to our city on a hosted trip for a dialogue on our nation’s path forward. We are listening, and more importantly, we hear you and want to continue to make positive impacts. Let’s bring about permanent change, together.

Our doors & our hearts are open. How soon can BTA come to Cincinnat?

If you have any questions, ideas, or comments please send an email to connect@sourcecincinnati.com