Unlocking Customer Loyalty: Harnessing the Power of Loyalty Program Insights

Understanding the Loyalty Programs in which customers participate is a crucial strategic move for travel businesses seeking to enhance their customer’s loyalty. By gaining insights into their affiliations, travel companies can cultivate loyalty by forging strategic partnerships, tailoring services to individual preferences, enriching the overall customer experience, and harnessing opportunities for cross-promotion. This knowledge serves as the foundation for a more profound connection with customers, resulting in a happier and more loyal customer base.

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Multicultural Travel News
Sept 15 – Oct 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month and more

News Briefs:
Las Vegas Celebrates El Grito and Hispanic Heritage Month with Entertainment and Cultural Events

St. Augustine, FL, Celebrates Hispanic Heritage All Year Long With Its Living Spanish, Afro-Caribbean and Latin American Cultures

ABC Travel Greenbook App

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San Diego’s history and heritage are deeply intertwined with the influences and achievements of Hispanic artists, athletes and other stars who have enriched our community immensely over the decades. Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) takes place September 15 to October 15 every year as a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community. To celebrate, the San Diego Tourism Authority is highlighting San Diego luminaries in the arts and sports communities, from music to visual arts to soccer and baseball. For more about Hispanic heritage in San Diego, read San Diego Hispanic Heritage Experiences and a listing of Hispanic-Owned Businesses on sandiego.org.

Mexican Independence Day, celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 16 and known as “El Grito,” is always a highlight of the year in the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World. Top Latin entertainment acts from around the world pack the weekend with music and laughs. The celebration also kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month, which honors the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the Hispanic American community through Sunday, Oct. 15. Special events for the month-long event are planned throughout the destination. Hispanic Heritage Month Cultural Events The City of Las Vegas presents El Grito: Celebrating the Independence of Mexico at the East Las Vegas Community Center on Friday, Sept. 15. The community festival includes live mariachi music, folk dance performances and children’s activities. Titled “Celebrations in Las Vegas,” the second annual Consulate of Mexico in Las Vegas Collaborative Exhibition is back at the Mayor’s Gallery at the Historic Fifth Street School. An artists’ reception is planned for Thursday, Sept. 14 and the exhibit is open Mondays through Fridays through Wednesday, Nov. 1. The Mexican Patriotic Committee puts on its Fiestas Patrias event at Sammy Davis, Jr. Festival Plaza in Lorenzi Park on Saturday, Sept. 16. The family-friendly event features food, live music and dancing. The Club Migrants de Uruapan Celebrates Hispanic Heritage event takes place at Sammy Davis, Jr. Festival Plaza in Lorenzi Park on Saturday, Oct. 14. The family-friendly celebration focuses on the culture of the Mexican state of Uruapan, featuring traditional music, dance, food, and art.

After years of research, Martinique Lewis, a diversity in travel consultant, President of the Black Travel Alliance, and host of National Geographic’s ‘“’Black Travel Across America’’, has turned her best-selling book “The ABC Travel Greenbook’’ into an app that travelers everywhere will have access to. From restaurants to recreation centers, transportation companies, and Black history tours, this resource shows you all of the places search engines can’t. This web application is the number one resource connecting travelers to the African Diaspora globally, effortlessly. The official release date was June 2nd, the three-year anniversary of Black Out Tuesday when brands and people all over the world showed their solidarity in supporting the Black community and Black-owned businesses. Inspired by Victor Hugo Green’s Negro Motorist Greenbook, this will be the first time travelers will have one digital resource that collectively lists all things Black pertaining to travel. This resource was created to celebrate Black culture and serve Black communities while also strengthening local economies and circulating the Black dollar. Follow on Facebook and Instagram @abctravelgreenbook Download the app on iPhone Download the app on Android

St. Augustine holds its Hispanic heritage close to its heart throughout the year. The tales of the adventures of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, who first claimed the land of this town April 3, 1513, and its later settlement by another Spanish explorer, Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565, are commonly told in the town. In addition, its 16th century Spanish architecture — complete with narrow, brick-paved streets — is similar to that found in other renowned cities of its kind and time, such as San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Cartagena, Colombia; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the other oldest city in the U.S. Today, visitors to St. Augustine will find that this is a city where Hispanic culture and history are part of daily life. Historical locations include the legendary Fountain of Youth Archeological Park; the Mission Nombre de Dios the actual location where Pedro Menendez de Aviles and the Spanish settlers celebrated the First Mass and Thanksgiving in the history of the U.S.; and the Castillo de San Marcos, the first masonry fortress built in the country. Another extraordinary, stand-out location Fort Mose, where freed slaves established the first legally sanctioned free black settlement in the U.S. in 1738. Some of St. Augustine’s most iconic and beloved restaurants take their culinary direction from Hispanic kitchens. Columbia Restaurant, for example, offers diners a traditional Spanish setting in the city’s historic district. The restaurant is more than 100 years old and has a menu of award-winning Spanish and Cuban cuisine. Major Hispanic heritage events, some connected to cuisine, take place throughout the year in St. Augustine. On September 9, 2023, the City of St. Augustine will celebrate the 458th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine by Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who along with 800 settlers including artisans, soldiers men, women and children established the settlement of St. Augustine. The commemoration takes place at Mission Nombre de Dios and the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park. Activities include a reenactment landing of Menedez and his men, greeted by the Native Timucuan Indians, A Celebration of Mass at the Rustic Alter, a reenactment of the first Thanksgiving and Spanish military encampments. And, the annual St. Augustine Spanish Food & Wine Festival that takes place in February each year to coincide with the celebration of Pedro Menendez de Aviles birthday, the Spanish culinary and wine influences found throughout the city’s dining establishments. This festival features tapas, wine and spirits, as well as a cava dinner reception and grand tasting. More than 100 Spanish wines are available to sample throughout the three-day event, along with Spanish-inspired cuisine prepared by local chefs. In May, Unidos en la Musica: A Latin American Festival celebrates the wide variety of Latin American music and pairs beats perfectly with authentic dance, food and games, From mid-November through January each year, the celebration of St. Augustine’s Hispanic heritage continues during Nights of Lights. Locals and visitors enjoy the city-wide display featuring millions of tiny white lights, a practice inspired by the Spanish tradition of lighting candles in the windows during the holiday season. During Nights of Lights, on December 15, Noches de Navidad” and Las Posadas, a live nativity, Eucharistic Adoration, and a 16th-Century Spanish procession of “Las Posadas” (the Inns) takes place at Mission Nombre de Dios. For more information, call 1.800.653.2489 or go to the Visitors and Convention Bureau website at www.FloridasHistoricCoast.com and www.viajaStAugustine.com.

Multicultural Travel News – June is LGBTQ Pride Month and more

News Briefs:
Where to Go This Pride Month – Asbury Park, NJ
Where to Go This Pride Month – Santa Fe, NM
Where to Go This Pride Month – Norfolk, VA
Where to Go This Pride Month – Providence, RI
Where to Go This Pride Month – Brooklyn, NY
Where to Go This Pride Month – Athens, GA
Where to Go This Pride Month – Florida’s Paradise Coast
Where to Go This Pride Month – Columbus, OH
Discover Mississippi’s Essential Civil Rights Experiences and Commemorate Civil Rights Hero Medgar Evers this June
Jewish Heritage Travel in Poland Oct 2-11, 2023
Spacious Skies Campgrounds Partners with Black Folks Camp Too in Latest Example of Fast-Growing Company’s Culturally Conscious Focus

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Celebrate Pride Month this June at Ursula Brooklyn, a queer-owned bakery and cafe created by Chef Eric See in 2021 with the initial goal of bringing his grandmother Ursula’s New Mexican cuisine to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Restaurant goers can look forward to select menu items benefiting the community, as well as a queer speed dating event upcoming at Ursula’s new Bed-Stuy location on June 12th at 6:30pm. Ursula will also be participating in The Infatuation’s Pride Bake Sale featuring the restaurant’s rosewater concha to benefit the Queer Food Foundation and help support those impacted by food insecurity in the LGBTQ+ community. Chef Eric, who is committed to cultivating an LGBTQ+-friendly environment for workers and guests alike, relocated and opened Ursula’s new Bed-Stuy location in April. As he and his team worked to re-open their fan-favorite New Mexican concept into a larger space with more service capabilities, they also documented their journey across the second season of Opening Soon, a podcast that shines a light on the ins and outs and ups and downs of operating a restaurant – hosted by the founders of the premium hospitality workwear brand Tilit. Over the season’s twelve-episode arc, Eric shares insights on how he pulled together enough capital to open his second location, how he navigated NYC’s competitive commercial real estate market, and how he intentionally supported the LGBTQ+ community throughout the process. For example, Eric ensured that 80% of his staff were queer, hired queer interior designers to decorate the Bed-Stuy location, and brought on queer cocktail and wine consultants to design the drink menu, and he continues to buy from queer-owned spirit and beer companies. Visitors to Ursula this June can enjoy standout menu items like green chile fried chicken sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and stuffed sopapillas in an LGBTQ+-friendly setting.

Mississippi, known as an essential American Civil Rights destination, will honor the life and legacy of one of the state’s most notable freedom fighters, Medgar Evers, to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of his brutal murder. June 6 – 12 in Jackson, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute will welcome visitors for a full week of commemorative experiences to remember Evers’ heroic sacrifice, including:

–         A self-guided Medgar Evers Justice Tour tracing Evers’ footsteps

–         Courage and Justice Film Festival

–         Evers Parade, celebrating the life of Medgar, Myrlie and Charles Evers

–         A remembrance ceremony and moment of silence at the national monument

Organized by Evers’ daughter, Reena Evers-Everette, these events immediately precede Juneteenth celebrations state-round and are an ideal bookend to a Civil Rights Road Trip through the state exploring the Mississippi Freedom, Blues and Literary Trails. For more information visit https://www.visitjackson.com/evers60/.

Paducah, KY On June 3, Paducah will be flooded with rainbows for Paducah PrideFest, a celebration of Paducah’s LGBTQ+ community with live music, performances, food and contests. The city’s anti-discrimination policy, the fairness ordinance, aims to protect the LGBTQ+ community by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations against people in the queer community. Paducah is also home to Cinema Systers, the only all-lesbian film festival in the country.