Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, announced that the institution will expand its building on Central Park West, adding more than 70,000 square feet of program space for itself and for The American LGBTQ+ Museum, New York’s first museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history and culture, which will make its permanent home at New-York Historical. The design by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, which was unanimously approved and highly praised by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its respect for the past and solicitation of community input, will provide New-York Historical with additional classrooms, galleries, collections study areas, and a state-of-the-art compact storage facility for the institution’s renowned Patricia D. Klingenstein Library. While the new building is under construction, The American LGBTQ+ Museum will partner with New-York Historical to develop programming in the Museum’s existing building and outdoor spaces, bringing the voices, perspectives, actions, and achievements of this community to the foreground for hundreds of thousands of annual visitors and New York City schoolchildren. Upon completion, The American LGBTQ+ Museum will occupy the entirety of the expansion’s fourth floor and encompass two galleries, access to the roof garden, and areas for offices and storage. The addition of onsite classrooms will enable a dramatic expansion of New-York Historical’s service to tens of thousands of New York City public school students. These classrooms will serve the Academy for American Democracy program, an educational initiative for New York’s sixth-grade students that is transforming the way history and civics are taught in middle school. New galleries and collections study areas will host the graduate students from New-York Historical’s Master of Arts in Museum Studies program, launched in 2019 through a partnership with CUNY’s School of Professional Studies. The program aims to diversify New York City’s cultural workforce, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and preparation to excel as professionals in the museum community. The collections of the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library include many unique items available at no other library in the world, among them rare copies of our nation’s foundational documents. The Library’s two original storage stacks, dating from 1904 and 1937, are outmoded, and the majority of the collection has been moved offsite as a precaution. Construction of new, state-of-the-art compact storage will allow for the rehousing of a substantial part of the collection at New-York Historical’s Central Park West home, making materials readily accessible to Library users. New-York Historical expects to undertake the expansion as a phased project. The first phase will begin in summer 2022 and will focus on the below-grade library stacks. A second phase will construct galleries, classrooms, and other spaces once target funding is achieved. To learn more, visit thelgbtqplusmuseum.org.

MMGY Global recently released the key findings from a new report, Vistas Latinas: A Landmark Study on U.S. Travelers of Hispanic Descent. This first-of-its-kind study was created by MMGY Travel Intelligence in collaboration with nonprofit Travel Unity to identify the needs, concerns and behaviors of U.S. Hispanic travelers. The Vistas Latinas study was created to provide a better understanding of the diverse and growing Hispanic population in the U.S., which according to the 2020 Census is now 62.1 million strong. This is MMGY Global’s second study of groups underrepresented in the travel industry, the first being The Black Traveler: Insights, Priorities and Opportunities. The comprehensive report, Vistas Latinas: A Landmark Study on U.S. Travelers of Hispanic Descent, whose name means Latin viewpoints, reveals the importance Hispanics place on representation in travel marketing and the power of travel to connect with family and culture. Of those surveyed for Vistas Latinas – most said they were born in the United States (83%) and a majority indicated their parents were also born in the U.S. Half of respondents indicated their family originated from Mexico, while a quarter of respondents surveyed said they were of Caribbean heritage (Puerto Rican, Dominican or Cuban). Some key findings from Vistas Latinas indicate that the vast majority (80%) of Hispanic travelers prefer to identify as Hispanic, while 25% prefer Latino/Latina and 3% prefer the term Latinx (respondents could choose more than one preferred term) and Hispanic travelers are predominantly consuming all forms of media in English. In addition, U.S. Hispanic travelers spent $113.9 billion on domestic leisure travel in 2019, accounting for 13% of all domestic leisure travel that year. Furthermore, 57% agreed they are more likely to visit a destination that embraces Hispanic cultures and celebrates Hispanic business and cultural contributions.

The Neon Museum will debutguided tours of the NeonBoneyard every Thursday,Friday, and Saturday at 8:30p.m. beginning Oct. 1. Thetours are being introduced forHispanic Heritage month and will become a permanent offering. “The Neon Museum has anamazing collection thatshowcases both the art andhistory of Las Vegas, and wewant to provide an experiencethat meets the needs of ourdiverse audience,” said AaronBerger, executive director ofThe Neon Museum. “WithHispanic Heritage Month uponus, we believe this is theperfect time to debut ourguided tours in Spanish. This isjust the beginning of newprogramming targeted todiverse audiences that we planto debut later this year. We are excited to bring to life the magic of The Neon Museum for our Spanish-speaking guests.” Berger added that future scheduling will be based on customer demand. Private tours in Spanish will also be available and can be arranged through the Museum. The guided tours will be conducted by fluent Spanish speakingMuseum Interpreters and will last 45 minutes, just like theEnglish language tours. Guided tour tickets are $28 per person ($24 for SouthernNevada residents). Tickets can be purchased online at: https://secure.neonmuseum.org/events, and the Spanish speaking tour should be specifically selected when tickets are purchased online. Spanish and bilingual videos about the new Spanishtours available for download here.

Topeka, Kansas, and the surrounding Shawnee County reached a historic high population in 2020. New Census numbers reveal that those who identify as Hispanic or Latino grew by nearly 24%, Topeka attracted approximately 2,000 new international immigrants and poverty rates in Topeka’s historically Hispanic neighborhoods were cut nearly in half. The city – led by Latina Mayor Michelle De La Isla – has seen immigrants drive business creation, fuel innovation and strengthen its middle class. Although Latinx people comprise only 15% of the city, 40% of Topeka’s City Council is made up of Hispanic individuals, including Mayor De La Isla and Deputy Mayor Mike Padilla. El Centro de Topeka, a Greater Topeka Partnership program that promotes equality for the Hispanic community, supports Topeka’s Hispanic-owned businesses. The response to the Covid-19 crisis also included the launch ofApoyarTopeka.com, a Spanish-language resource for businesses and residents. Washburn Tech East, a $6M extension campus of Washburn University, opened in 2019 to provide the region’s Hispanic community with access to career training, ESL classes and GED support. Finally, Hispanic heritage is immersed throughout happenings in Topeka. The East 6^th business district includes 30 vibrant Spanish-language restaurants, retailers and bars. Topeka CVB is among the first Midwestern cities to make its visitor’s guide available in Spanish, detailing events likeFiesta Mexicana, one of the Midwest’s largest Mexican heritage festivals. For more information, visit https://www.topekapartnership.com/.

Explore Charleston, the Lowcountry’s top destination management and marketing organization, introduced the inaugural class of its new Intern Cultural Enrichment Program (ICEP) on May 25, 2021. This initiative connects underrepresented minority students, many from historically-black colleges and universities (HBCUs), with world-class internship opportunities in the local travel and hospitality industry. ICEP is a ten-week leadership development program that complements the students’ paid internships. Participants engage in a weekly curriculum that introduces information about the local community and culture, fosters interaction with business and civic leaders, and cultivates peer relationships. The ICEP was established to prepare the students to hold hospitality leadership roles in the future, so many are shadowing general managers and rotating through several properties and multiple departments throughout the summer.  The concept for this program came from Explore Charleston’s “Heart for Hospitality” initiative. Launched in 2019, “Heart for Hospitality” is a living story that invites Charleston’s large and diverse community to advance the Lowcountry with raised awareness and action for inclusion. Thirteen students from six universities were accepted into ICEP, including Benedict College, Morgan State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Virginia State University. Other non-HBCU schools include Johnson and Wales (Charlotte, NC) and University of South Carolina. Internship partners include Belmond Charleston Place, Charleston County Aviation Authority, Charlestowne Hotels, Hotel Bennett, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Lowcountry Hotels and Wild Dunes Resort. There was no cost to the students for participation in ICEP and Explore Charleston is covering all summer housing costs.