The theme, "Tourism Can Change Our Community", will focus on Hispanic, African American and other minorities in the tourism market. The 3-day educational conference will be open by Florida State Secretary of Labor, Mary Hooks and will attract top level hospitality representatives, meeting planners, CVB executives, minority hotel investors and entrepreneurs from around the United States and Caribbean. Experts will discuss how to tap this 60 billion dollar and growing minority travel market including exploring minority hotel ownership, financing, franchising and joint-venturing. Sponsors include Zoho, Peoples Atlantic Development Corp., State of Georgia, Horizons Marketing Group, Southwest Airlines, Jacksonville & the Beaches CVB, Choice Hotels International, IABHOD Target Marketing News & Bahamasair.

Hotel companies including Cendant, Choice International, Ashbury Suites and Accor Economy Lodging will discuss new franchising and incentive opportunities open to minorities. 

African American hotel developers, Donahue Peebles, who is building one of the largest convention center hotels in the State of Florida and Donnell Thompson, who has already constructed more than six chain affiliate hotels in Southeastern U.S., along with Buggsi Patel, Chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) will share their experiences with other entrepreneurs on how to tap into this lucrative market.  

The International Association of Black Hotel Owners & Developers (IABHOD) is working on a strategic alliance with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association who in just over 10 short years have amassed over 40 billion dollars in property  employing almost one million people. Today, there are over thirty eight African American hotel development and growing. 

General sessions, workshops, annual report of the buying power of Black America, NAACP hotel report card, seminars and a town hall meeting by Roy Jay, will educate and spark discussion on multicultural tourism and hotel development. Mabra Holeyfield, a long time owner of a chain hotel in Downtown Memphis, and John Edward Brown, an investment banker who heads up an Black investment foundation to encourage hotel development, will lead discussions on joint venture opportunities and financing along with SBA representatives.  There will be a host of other tourism industry professionals and experts including representatives from the African American Association of Innkeepers, A.C.T., Intl. Association of Hispanic Meeting Professionals, Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance, FUBU The Collection and The Natl. Organization of Black Chemists & Engineers.

The Trade Show will be held Thursday & Friday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. where a trip for two to The Bahamas will be given away by Bahamasair.