April 17, 2015
New York Travel Festival Focuses on African Americans and Travelers with Disabilities
If you’re passionate about travel and will be in the New York City area this weekend, the Third Annual New York Travel Festival should not be missed. From April 18-19, 2015, travel industry experts, media professionals, die-hard travelers, college students, and people in career transition will gather at Hostelling International for a series of events on everything from travel trends and diversity to how to take a great Instagram photo.
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Beyond learning about travel tips and trends, attendees will have an opportunity to
to meet one-on-one with travel experts to learn about ways to make a transition into the industry.
The New York Travel Festival provides travelers and travel professionals the opportunity to not just listen to people up on a stage, but to connect with like minded travelers. Interact with leading travel influencers in the African American community and beyond–Cherae Robinson, Founder Tastemakers Africa, Evita Robinson, Creator, Nomadness LLC and Zim Ugochukwu Founder, Travel Noire.  Explore innovative travel technologies and engage with people who see travel as an experience, not just an escape. Here are a few additional highlights of the festival:
Travel Unity Summit – The first Travel Unity Summit will focus on bringing under-represented groups further in tourism, with a special focus on African-Americans and travelers with disabilities. “One of the reasons we’re having the Travel Unity Summit this year is because you don’t see a diversity of faces in the travel industry. It’s very bazaar that the travel industry is so far behind embracing diversity in advertising. We want to facilitate the conversation around travel being for all groups–this should be implicitly obvious to everyone,†said Roni Weiss, Founder of the New York Travel Fest.”
Travel 2.0 – Showcases Oculus Rift technology, an innovative virtual reality technology where consumers can research and experience their next vacation by being immersed in a 360 degree, 3-dimensional environment.
Innovation in accessibility panel – Focus on accessibility implementation, with representatives from the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
Daily and industry weekend tickets are available, visit NY Travel Fest.com. Are you planning to attend the New York Travel Festival? If so, what sessions are you looking forward to joining?