In each issue, of Multicultural Marketing News, MMR's bi-monthly newsletter, Multicultural Travel News helps business travelers select multicultural leisure activities and events at their destination and advises leisure travelers about sights, attractions, and events with multicultural markets (Hispanic, African American, Asian American, women's market) as a focus.

Convention and Visitors bureaus of major U.S. cities are beginning to publish multicultural itinerary brochures to help tourists add a multicultural focus to their visit and invite Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asian Americans to visit. These brochures offer self-guided tours of historical neighborhoods, heritage-specific trails, cultural festivals, and more. What is the genesis of this initiative? Cities recognize and acknowledge the diversity of cultures and the people of varying ethnicities who have contributed greatly to each city's development and history. The number of multicultural visitors is increasing.

Here is a round up of cities that provide multicultural travel information:

Raleigh, NC, in recognition of its culturally diverse populations, offers an African American Heritage Sites Guide to landmarks in the area while key museums offer programs in Spanish to appeal to the Hispanic population. The city's website, www.visitraleigh.com, features an area that describes more than 30 historic and cultural sites with an African American appeal and heritage. The African American Cultural Complex (more about this museum in our next issue) is a unique collection of contributions, innovations and inventions. The Exploris Museum recently presented its IMAX film Everest, in Spanish, four times each week for the month of October. The North Carolina Museum of History presented a month long celebration of Latino culture during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Milwaukee, WI is one city that champions its diversity and welcomes tourists of diverse ethnic backgrounds. In its "Guide to Multicultural Milwaukee" published by Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), the GMCVB notes its commitment to inclusivity and multicultural development. Milwaukee has witnessed tremendous Hispanic growth with an increase in population of 107% and an influx of Hispanic owned business, the brochure highlights. The guide lists several African American, Asian American, Hispanic, and Native American attractions and events. It also lists Milwaukee's ethnic media. The African American Tourism Coalition, Inc. publishes the "Visitors Guide To Black Milwaukee" to acquaint visitors with African American attractions. During the summer months, visitors can enjoy such celebrations as the Asian Moon Festival and Mexican Fiesta. The GMCVB also encourages multicultural meeting planners, association executives, and convention delegates to choose Milwaukee as the city for its conventions. Milwaukee has hosted the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Council of La Raza, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce conferences.

Like Milwaukee, San Diego, CA also welcomes multicultural meeting planners. San Diego has been the host city of conferences for such organizations as the Coalition of Black Meeting Planners, the National Latino Police Officers Association, and the Asian American Journalists Association. San Diego is rich in culture, and its people are diverse in heritage. San Diego boasts multicultural festivals such as the Vietnamese Tet Festival, the annual Black History Month Kumba Fest, the Linda Vista multicultural Fair/Parade, the San Diego Jewish Arts Festival, and the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade and Festival. In 2002, Hispanic Magazine named San Diego the top city in the United States for Hispanics.

Las Vegas, NV - "Las Vegas Area Multicultural Guide 2002-2003" is a comprehensive guide to events and the culturally diverse offerings of Las Vegas. Its contents include chapters on African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, European, Hispanic, Jewish, Middle Eastern, and Native American heritage. Las Vegas hosts events such as Mexican Independence Day, the Greek Food Festival, African-American Cultural Focus: Trace Your Family Roots, The Martin Luther King, Jr. parade, and the Miss Chinatown Las Vegas competition. The African-American Cultural Society provides heritage tours of Nevada. Tourists can visit such attractions as The Walker African American Museum, which chronicles the history of people of African descent in Nevada. Las Vegas is famous for its wedding venues, of course, and the guide describes sixteen ethnic wedding customs. These customs include Chinese, Greek, Mexican, Russian, African and more. You can learn about such rituals as "jumping the broom" in the African-American culture or the wearing of the lasso in a Mexican ceremony. Visitors can also obtain cultural information from the local Asian, Latin, and Urban Chambers of Commerce.

Florida - "Worth The Drive Driving Tours" guidebook provides heritage trails of Florida including African-American, Native American, and Cuban trails and offers daily itineraries for tourists with directions, descriptions, and contact information for various points of interest. These four-day journeys highlight historical sites and points of interest such as the African American Research Library and Cultural Center, the Old Dillard Museum and the first school constructed in Ft. Lauderdale for students of color. In Key West, visitors may stop at the Lofton B. Sands African-Bahamian Museum and the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum to view the exhibit of the slave ship, Henrietta Marie that went down in the Keys around 1700. The Cuban Heritage Trail begins in Ybor City in Tampa, once known as the "Cigar Capital of the World." The brochure notes that Memorial Park is the only soil in the United States technically owned by Cuba; Miami's Little Havana are also stops along the Cuban trail. Sites along the Native American trail include the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, the Seminole Oaklee Indian Village and Museum, and the Miccosukee Indian Village and Airboats located on the Miccosukee Indian Reservation.

"Dallas! Multiculturally Exposed!" provides a map of multicultural and heritage destinations and a calendar of annual cultural events in Dallas such as the Chinese New Year celebration in February, the Dallas Cinco de Mayo celebration, and the "Juneteenth Jazz and Blues JamFest" during the month of June. The Texas Historical Commission's "African-Americans in Texas: Historical & Cultural Legacies" brochure is an informative and educational guide to African American history in Texas. It identifies a number of African American sites with national, state, and local historical designation, cultural attractions, and special events in over 45 Texan cities from Abilene to Waxahachie.

These brochures are excellent resources for leisure travelers, business travelers, and conference planners alike. To receive a copy of any of these brochures or for more information on a particular city, contact the following representative or the city's visitors bureau.

Greater Raleigh CVB, 800-849-8499; Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc., Wendy Haase, 414-287-4254 whaase@milwaukee.org; San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau Joe Timko, 619-557-2812, jtimko@sdcvb.org; Las Vegas Visitor Information Center, 702-892-7575, 1-877-VISITLV, www.lvcva.com; Visit Florida, Betsey Caire 850-4885607, bcaire@flausa.com; Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tel: 214-571-1000, www.visitdallas.com; Texas Historical Commission 512-463-6100, thc@thc.state.tx.us.

© Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc., 2006