Speaking at TTG’s Fairer Travel Diversity Forum, Sara Francisco, Global Travel Collection human resources advisor, said the brand started its journey in 2020 in an effort to establish what it needed to do.

“Start the conversation, build the awareness and build a community where people can talk, then invest in that community,” she advised forum delegates on Wednesday (5 July) during the panel discussion.

Francisco said businesses needed to look at recruitment and retention, as well as awareness and training, and align themselves with organisations that focus on DEI.

The forum heard how being part of a global company presented its own challenges.

Sharon Njini, dnata Travel Group’s head of people development, culture and engagement, said it had undertaken a DEI audit in the UK. "We have held the mirror up to ourselves as an organisation. Now we have a plethora of information, and we can start to think about where we need to go.

“This is a regional strategy; we couldn’t possibly develop DEI strategy in a global organisation of such size. It’s really important you develop a local strategy; you’ll just tie yourself in knots trying to do it globally.”

Shayna Zand, head of partnerships at payments platform WeTravel, spoke of how one positive move had been to “take out the need for education” from job advertisements.

"That changed the game for us," she said. “Some people do not have the means to go to university or college. A second one [move] was being very clear on what salaries are. We do that in every part of our business worldwide.”

She added groups had been set up within the business to tackle DEI issues, while external speakers on issues like mental health were a fortnightly feature.

Zand recommended the KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid – approach, adding: “Don’t overthink it.”

She said collaboration between companies was key: “This industry shares so much – ask your competitors what worked and what didn’t. Don’t not start because you feel overwhelmed. You’re not on your own.”

Jo Rzymowska, former Celebrity Cruises vice-president and managing director EMEA, who chaired the discussion, agreed: “There is no competition in DEI. If we use it as a forum to compete then the travel industry will never, ever change."

She added DEI was becoming more important to consumers and a more attractive attribute for businesses. “It’s important to show your customers you are not just about your product and making money.”