Tourism Cares breaks its mission into five specific goals.
The event was hosted by Mike Rea, Tourism Cares' CEO, accompanied by board members Robin Tauck, Terry Dale, Ellen Lurz, Fred Dixon, Greg Takehara and Mike Fegley of IHG, which provided the venue.
The association is best known for its high-profile volunteering projects, which bring hundreds of travel industry volunteers together for clean-up and restoration projects at sites that are in need of help. But that is not all the association does, Rea said.
"Yes, we do volunteering, but what we really do is invest in destinations," said Rea.
Rea, who was appointed in May 2013 to head Tourism Cares after the retirement of Bruce Beckham, outlined some of the ways Tourism Cares will change going forward. Rea took office as executive director in July 2013. He was previously a senior program officer with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and previously worked in philanthropy with Bank of America and Give2Asia.
• In the Guerrero region of Mexico, Tourism Cares is supporting Limpia Guerrero in volunteer beach clean-up events and promoting awareness about sustainable practices.
• In Myanmar, Tourism Cares is supporting Friends International in its efforts to support street children through training for the hospitality industry.
• In Egypt, Tourism Cares is working with the local tourism industry to support the struggling travel industry, in particular with work in Luxor and with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
• This year, Tourism Cares is providing $60,000 in grants to Fauna Flora International of Akyaka, Turkey; AARDE Foundation of Chennai, India; Copan Association of Copan, Honduras; Glacier National Park of Columbia Falls, Mont.; Old Slater Mill of Pawtucket, R.I.; and Clayoquot Biosphere Trust of Tofino, British Columbia.