Friday October 23, 2020

 Indigenous Tourism Forum of the Americas 

The Indigenous Tourism Forum of the Americas (October 12-16), organized by Organization of American states, GWSB International Institute of Tourism Studies and US Department of Interior, was a great success. Indigenous leaders, government leaders and travel industry leaders came together to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry in indigenous communities in the Americas and find creative solutions to crisis management for long-term sustainable economic development. The week-long virtual forum was interactive and engaging, featuring keynote presentations, roundtable discussions, workshops and four virtual tours, including Acoma Sky City in New Mexico, Talaysay Tours in British Columbia, Wayuu in Columbia and Surama Ecolodge in Guyana. Several MTA students volunteered for this forum.
Jaclyn Yost, current MTA student, Founder & CEO of ecomadic, spoke at the Travel Unity Summit on October 21. She joined other panelists to discuss 'Sustainability in a Mid and Post COVID World'. Congrats, Jaclyn!
Doctoral Alumni News
Our esteemed Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Milena Nikolova, published a new book on Behavioral Economics for Tourism. This publication came out from her first behavioral project with one of Sweden's regional tourism boards, which is a manual for tourism businesses with hands-on tactics informed by behavioral economics. This manual is available to the public. Congrats to Dr. Nikolova for the new book, one of the first on this topic. 
MTA Alumni News
Shirin Jafari (MTA ’20) started a new position as Sustainable Tourism Development Specialist at MMGY NextFactor. Congrats, Shirin!

 Upcoming Virtual Events 

Join David Adler, Chairman and Founder of BizBash, for an intimate and fast-paced discussion on entrepreneurship at the intersection of media and the events world. David will share his experiences launching and developing BizBash, the largest business-to-business event media property with nearly 1.5 million annual user sessions. He will also discuss his insights on starting, growing, acquiring and selling companies during his career spanning over three decades. In addition, attendees will also learn more about the changing role of media in the hospitality sector, as well as how COVID-19 is influencing the future of events and meetings.
Register here
Join Tourism for Tomorrow for a  Zoom virtual happy hour! Come and meet fellow MTA sutdents on Friday November 6th from 5:30pm-7pm EST!  To join please use the link and passcode below: 
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9784516413?pwd=NUtSTlcwK0FRcnBxb0x0TUN5QXVrUT09
Passcode: 110220

 Getting to know your Colleague  

Danielle Lewis-Jones

Danielle Lewis-Jones is a current MTA student with over ten years of professional experience in relationship management, marketing, small business revenue growth strategy, and creating unique consumer experiences to increase profits. Currently, Danielle is a Program Assistant at the International Institute of Tourism Studies (IITS) who has worked on various projects including Caribbean Market and North Dakota Tribal Tourism Research. Additionally, she serves as the Advisory Committee Liaison for the Indigenous Tourism Forum of the Americas and as a Program Coordinator for the National Blacks in Travel and Tourism Collaborative, an organization devoted to diversity and inclusion efforts in the tourism industry.
Prior to entering the Tourism Program at GWU, Danielle served as a Business to Business Sales Representative for several luxury beauty brands, serving the retail and luxury spa and wellness markets. A native of Atlanta, GA, Danielle holds a Bachelor’s in Foreign Languages and has working proficiency in both Spanish and Italian. 

What projects have you been working on that you want to share with the readers? 
My most recent projects have centered around Indigenous tourism through my work with the Indigenous Tourism Forum of the Americas and my research on existing tribal tourism codes (laws) both through the GW IITS. I have also been actively involved in diversity and inclusion discussions in our industry through recent webinars at GWU and my work as a Program Assistant with the National Blacks in Travel and Tourism Collaborative.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation, I want to help private and public sector entities improve their revenue-generating activities through cultural tourism promotion including product development, sales and marketing. 

What is an unusual talent that you have?
I am a dangerously good southern cook and can do fabulous makeovers as a former beauty professional.
The September MTA Student Webinar Series featured a panel of six hospitality industry leaders to discuss how hospitality companies are adapting to radical, real-time shifts in demand by capitalizing on new trends such as unprecedented use of food delivery services, barriers to international travel, shifts toward smaller group events and changes in consumer behavior regarding booking, loyalty and overall travel patterns. We thank Jacque Riley, GWSB MBA ’13 for leading the rapid-fire panel discussions and the panelists for the mini cases on how to increase agility, assess new initiatives and revamp existing business strategies to gain market share in the competitive, changeable pandemic travel environment and beyond.

The on-demand recording is now available. Stay tune for The Future of Travel II: Breakthrough Strategies for the New Landscape of Hospitality in late November.

Early Registration for Continuing Students:
The Office of the Registrar has posted the registration schedule for Spring 2021 starting on November 12. The schedule of classes for spring 2021 will be posted before the registration starts. MTA students will receive the guideline from the MTA Administrations Office for preparing your registration for spring classes. Please contact your academic advisors if you have any questions and make sure you register for the required courses. 
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