Tourism Cares with IPW
Tourism Cares
Meaningful Travel Experience with IPW 2024
Thank you to everyone who attended Tourism Cares’ Meaningful Travel Experience with IPW 2024. More than 40 travel trade professionals participated in the program where they learned about the untold stories and hidden gems of Los Angeles' LGBTQ+ history led by the expert guides from The Lavender Effect, an organization featured on Tourism Cares' Meaningful Travel Map.
Special thanks to our community partners, including:
Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Culinary Arts program which catered the program's lunch.
Billy Kolber of HospitableMe, who delivered an educational session for attendees. Check out their guide for Best Practices in LGBTQ+ Tourism.
LA Pride: Check out their list of pride events happening this June.
IGLTA for donating a complimentary membership to The Lavender Effect.
We hope to see you at IPW 2025 in Chicago!
Special thanks to our partners:
2023 Tourism Cares at IPW
On May 21, 2023 Tourism Cares and IPW explored meaningful travel along the San Antonio river. Giving attendees the chance to explore and give back to the 2023 host destination.
Attendees took off in kayaks along the San Antonio River Mission Reach Paddling Trail and journeyed through a water landscape that is important to San Antonio’s 300-year history. After kayaking, attendees participated in a lunch + learn session in Confluence Park, and learned from the River Authority and other local organizations about the important work the community is doing to preserve the ecosystem and culture of the city. Following lunch, attendees rolled up their sleeves for a planting and restoration project to leave a lasting impact.
Attendees planted 320 plants in the area surrounding the Friendship Pollinator Garden. The pollinator garden is designed to provide a sanctuary for Monarch Butterflies during their international migration, as well as a crucial habitat for myriad other pollinators and migratory species.
Attendees removed 140lbs of trash from the watershed! Mission Reach at Confluence Park is an active ecosystem restoration project in the southern portions of the densely populated urban section of the San Antonio River Walk. Sudden storms bring large amounts of trash and other nonpoint source pollutants into the river along with stormwater from urban impervious surfaces like roads, parking lots, etc. This is a hazard to the health of the river and all the wildlife and plants that depend on the river for survival.
The San Antonio River Authority and our other local partners were thrilled with the outcome of the day. These community-based organizations truly made the program come alive for the attendees and we look forward to continuing to engage with them via our Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map.
Special thanks to all our sponsors and partners
that made this program possible.
Tourism Cares and IPW Orlando 2022 Give Back
On Saturday, June 4th, Tourism Cares hosted a community volunteer event to kick off IPW 2022. IPW delegates joined our partners, IDEAS for us, Fleet Farming, and Audubon Park Community Church in getting the local community garden ready for the summer season. These gardens are located at the center of the community and provide fresh food for residents, local farmers’ markets, and food pantries. The event served as a reminder of how important it is to engage with the people and places of travel when visiting a destination.
Tourism Cares awarded IDEAS for Us a total of $10,000 in support to help fund the community work that began at IPW, as well as for a future project. IDEAS For Us is partnering with Keep Orlando Beautiful to install native plants around the Orlando airport to contribute to biodiversity, clean air, and community beautification. This project implementation will be open to the public as a community event, where people will come together to plant over 400 native grasses, shrubs and pollinator plants on the trail bordering the airport.
Learn more about our local Orlando partners and find more just like them all across North America by visiting our Meaningful Travel Map.
Special thanks to all our sponsors and partners that made this program possible.
2021: Fundraiser to Benefit Three Square in Las Vegas
Thanks to the support of our sponsors and donors, we were able to donate more than $22,000 to Three Square of Southern Nevada during IPW
About the Program:
Over the last four years, Tourism Cares has worked with IPW and its host destination in activating conference attendees to make a difference in the communities where they’re visiting. In 2021, Tourism Cares partnered with Three Square, Southern Nevada’s only food bank, to support them in a fundraising campaign desperately needed as a result of COVID-19.
About Three Square: Three Square works to ensure a more food secure community, with a mission to provide wholesome food to hungry people, while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community.
Why This Matters: The recent coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the local community’s food insecurity and created greater demand on the food bank. During the pandemic year, Three Square distributed more than 56 million meals. This is the equivalent of more than 68 million pounds of food and grocery product.
As a destination largely dependent on tourism, our industry has seen incredible challenges and many have become more reliant on community services. By supporting Three Square, the IPW delegation can make an enormous impact on the people of Las Vegas - and our travel industry colleagues.
Special thanks to all of our donors, and our sponsors and partners that made this fundraiser possible.
