Travel tech 'dominated by white, Anglo-Saxon people' at top

Just 13.5% of travel tech leaders found to be 'non-white' in study

An analysis of CEOs of the top companies and most visible individuals in the B2B travel technology space has shown that only 13.5% of these are ‘non-white’.

The research, carried out recently by B2B travel tech public relations agency Belvera Partners, was based on the companies and individuals selected on its Belvera B2B Travel Tech Map. 

Using LinkedIn profiles, the company identified if someone was ‘white’ or ‘non-white’ for the research.

The metro-style Belvera B2B Travel Tech Map includes lines for aviation tech, accommodation distribution tech, TMCs, car rental tech, in-destination experiences tech, short-term rental tech and more as well as lines for top personalities, lobby groups and journalists. The map features over 400 ‘stops’ and is updated most months.

When breaking down these results by business vertical, the worst performing were lobby groups, vacation rentals and hospitality schools, with each having zero ‘non-white’ leaders. 

Meanwhile the highest performing was hotel distribution and sales, with 20%.

This follows data published by Belvera Partners recently - using the same criteria - that showed just 15.6% of travel technology leaders were female. 

Roman Townsend, managing director of Belvera Partners, said: “Obviously labelling people ‘white’ and ‘non-white’ – and at that just on one photo from someone’s LinkedIn profile – is a very limiting and crude definition for measuring diversity. 

"We recognise that this doesn’t capture many groups that could be considered, for example people who might identify as Latino or Jewish or Muslim, if we could know more details about them. 

“So certainly the real minority figure is above 13.5%. But much higher? I personally know many of these leaders and can tell you that it wouldn’t be a whole lot higher even if we could capture more detailed information. 

"Let’s face it, the industry is dominated by white, Anglo-Saxon people at the top and that simply has to change for so many reasons.

“But perhaps what surprised me most was that when I approached ‘non-white’ leaders in the sector and asked them to provide some comment on this that we could give to media, the majority of them excused themselves on the basis that they felt the topic too contentious. 

When we did the same research about female leaders only one declined, so I think this really shows that there’s even more work to be done in this part of diversity.” 

To gain reactions on this data and understand what might be causing this imbalance and lack of ‘non-white’ representation, Belvera spoke with some leaders in the travel technology space who would identify as being in that category.

Roopak Pati, managing director and head of global travel technology investment banking of Oppenheimer & Co., is an American of Indian decent.

He said: “This data is probably not surprising to those who are deep in the travel technology sector. I feel collecting and highlighting it is important because it enables a meaningful conversation. 

"Travel inherently allows people to expand their perspectives by exploring the world and meeting people of all different backgrounds. Of course, travel spend also comes from people of all different backgrounds and perhaps the strongest demographic shifts enabling more spend are currently being seen in Asia.

“In order to best serve travellers and continue to push the industry forward, the leadership of travel technology companies should reflect a diversity of backgrounds as well. 

"It will likely result in the best economic outcome for these companies, but perhaps even more importantly, it will allow them to create products and experiences that best serve the future of the industry."

Chris Ogboke, founder of F&B app Squeez, identifies as being a black man of Scottish nationality. He said: “I’m new to the travel technology sector but I believe there are bigger opportunities since COVID for developing minority leaders. 

"There’s still some who claim this barrier is non-existent or exaggerated, when truthfully, we’re all heads down trying to securely or insecurely justify our own existence.

“There’s multiple layers of opportunity: executive teams, hiring & developing talent, strategic sourcing, which all play a role within the investment ecosystem. 

"A goal of any business is to create value. Sadly this means that if this value is maximised by not being diverse, then its accomplishing its goal. 

"As consumers, we’re not there yet enough to care, we have bigger personal battles - time, convenience and inflation - though stock prices can take a dive when things come up that impact brand perception, especially if we preach diversity on our corporate statements when our facts fall short. 

“Knowing the facts for any of these aren’t great and results really come from CEOs or COOs, I’m grateful for the leaders and partners I come across who typically value innovation, are commercially focused on tangible profit yet see strategic value in collaboration and reflecting the general consumer population.”

Belvera Partners has been urged by Pati to repeat the analysis in a few years, to see how leadership in the industry has changed and whether the most successful companies are those that prioritise diverse perspectives or not.