Destinations International announced the 2026 Pathways to Success scholarship recipients, eight students receive financial and mentoring support to enter tourism
Destinations International, the international association that brings together organizations responsible for managing and promoting destinations, announced on April 8, 2026, a new generation of scholarship recipients as part of the
Pathways to Success Scholarship & Professional Development Program. This is an initiative supported by the Destinations International Foundation, whose goal is to expand access to education, professional development, and career opportunities for students studying for careers in tourism and hospitality. This year’s announcement is also important because it shows how the tourism destinations sector is increasingly turning more openly toward the long-term development of talent, instead of viewing workforce issues exclusively through short-term market needs. In practice, this means that students are offered not only tuition money, but also entry into a professional network that often determines whether someone will actually remain in the industry after graduating. In this way, the scholarship model is transformed into a broader development tool for future employees and the destinations themselves that want to retain them.
According to the official announcement, in the 2026 class,
eight students were selected from accredited higher education institutions in the United States and Canada. Each of them can receive up to
8,000 U.S. dollars per year for educational expenses, and in addition they are entitled to year-round mentoring, access to professional workshops, and networking with people from the destination management sector. The program also includes participation in Destinations International’s annual convention, which will be held this year from
July 21 to 23, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. It is precisely this combination of financial support and direct contact with the industry that Pathways to Success is trying to use to distinguish itself from traditional scholarships, which most often end with a one-time payment without further professional follow-up.
Who are the 2026 scholarship recipients
The list of this year’s scholarship recipients includes students from universities in several U.S. states, as well as from Canada, confirming that the program has truly been expanded to the broader North American area. The announced recipients are:
- Christell Miranda Lopez, University of the District of Columbia
- Elise Tyson, Morgan State University
- Gabrielle Nembhard, Delaware State University
- Kristelle Soto, University of Central Florida
- Pasindu Perera, South Dakota State University
- Samya Drakeford, Delaware State University
- Semiyah Smith, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
- Wut Yee Kyi Pyar, University of Waterloo
The composition of the list itself shows that the organizers did not target only one type of educational institution or one geographic circle. Among those selected are students from public universities, historically significant African American higher education institutions, and large regional educational centers, while the presence of the Canadian University of Waterloo further confirms the program’s international ambition. For the students themselves, this means greater visibility within a sector that has traditionally relied heavily on local networks, internships, and recommendations. For destination organizations, on the other hand, this kind of selection opens the possibility of identifying future professionals before they complete their studies and including them in local tourism ecosystems through internships, mentoring, and first professional engagements.
How the program was created and what changed compared to the earlier model
Pathways to Success did not arise out of nothing. Destinations International openly states that it is an expanded and substantially developed version of the earlier
HBCU Scholarship program, which was aimed at students from historically Black colleges and universities in the United States. The new model retained the idea of increasing access and opportunities, but at the same time significantly expanded the circle of applicants to all full-time students at accredited institutions in the United States and Canada who are studying hospitality or tourism management. In this way, the organization retained its emphasis on inclusivity, while positioning the program as a broader platform for developing future talent in tourism and destination management.
Its symbolism is also important. While the earlier scholarship framework was focused primarily on correcting structural inequalities in access to the industry, Pathways to Success is now trying to combine that dimension with the general problem of talent shortages and the need for clearer career pathways in tourism. In its materials, Destinations International emphasizes that the destination management sector is often underrepresented in the academic environment, so students often know hospitality, air transport, or event organization, but understand less about how destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, and tourism boards and related bodies function. For that reason, the program does not offer only a scholarship, but also “sector visibility” that can remain outside students’ focus until the completion of their studies.
What the scholarship actually includes, apart from tuition money
The official program description shows that financial support is not the only, and perhaps not even the most important, component. In addition to tuition money, the selected students receive year-round mentoring, targeted forms of professional development, networking with people from the industry, and the possibility of attending Destinations International events. The organization points out that the purpose of such an approach is to help students finish their studies not only with a degree, but also with a basic professional network, a clearer sense of which careers await them, and what role their local communities can play in that. In the language of the industry, this is often called “career readiness,” but in concrete terms it means that young people gain access to mentors, panels, contacts, and experiences that they would otherwise find very difficult to acquire on their own.
According to the rules published on the program’s website, eligible applicants were full-time students taking at least nine credits of relevant coursework, with a grade point average of at least 3.0, and able to demonstrate financial need and leadership qualities. Along with the application form, a 500- to 800-word essay on professional ambitions, a two- to five-minute video on why the applicant chose a career in hospitality and tourism, a résumé, and a recommendation from a university official were required. The application deadline was
January 20, 2026, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, and according to the published rules, candidates were to be notified of the results by
March 31, 2026. Such a competition structure suggests that not only academic success was sought, but also motivation, the ability to present oneself publicly, and clear professional direction.
The organization’s message: investing in people as investing in the resilience of destinations
In the official announcement, Destinations International President and CEO Don Welsh said that investing in the next generation of destination leaders is key to the industry’s long-term strength and sustainability. In the same tone, Foundation Chair Martha J. Sheridan, who also leads Meet Boston, stressed that supporting programs like this means creating a stronger workforce that is more ready for the future. Although such statements belong to the standard language of institutional announcements, it is important to note that this is not only about individual student successes. The emphasis is on the fact that destinations, cities, and regional tourism organizations need people who understand the community, the visitor economy, and the way tourism affects local development.
This is especially important at a time when tourism and travel are once again being confirmed as a powerful economic engine, but at the same time are increasingly facing questions about sustainability, acceptance within the community, and the quality of jobs. In its latest data, the U.S. Travel Association states that travel in the United States supports about
15 million jobs and generates about
1.3 trillion dollars in spending. At the same time, the World Travel & Tourism Council warns that the global travel and tourism sector could be short of more than
43 million workers by 2035 if recruitment, retention, and workforce development strategies are not strengthened. In such a framework, programs like Pathways to Success also gain broader significance: they are not just philanthropy or a marketing tool, but one of the ways in which the industry is trying to respond in an organized way to the problem of the future workforce.
Why the destination management sector in particular is important
When talking about careers in tourism, the public most often first thinks of hotels, restaurants, airlines, travel agencies, or event organizers. However, Destinations International operates in a segment that is less visible to the wider public, but is extremely important for the functioning of the tourism system. These are organizations that coordinate the promotion of places, the development of business and convention travel, relations with the local community, cooperation with carriers, hoteliers, and cultural institutions, as well as the increasingly important task of proving that tourism brings real benefits to residents, not only to visitors. According to the organization’s own data, Destinations International brings together nearly
1,000 members and partners from different parts of the world, so the scholarship program is not only assistance for students, but also a potential channel for future employment within a broad professional network.
That is precisely why the organization constantly emphasizes local connections and “place-based careers,” that is, careers rooted in the communities from which students come, in the description of Pathways to Success. The message is clear: the destination sector does not need only people who know how to sell travel, but also those who understand the identity of a place, the needs of residents, public policy, accessibility, sustainability, and the economic impact of the visitor economy. For cities and regions that want to develop tourism without conflict with the community, this is an increasingly important competence. In that sense, a scholarship that brings a student to the annual convention and connects them with professionals from the industry can have a longer-term effect than might be concluded from the amount of financial support alone.
Portland as the meeting place for scholarship recipients and the industry
It is also not unimportant where the scholarship recipients will have the opportunity to get to know the sector up close. Destinations International’s 2026 annual convention has been announced for Portland, Oregon, from July 21 to 23, and it will be held at the Oregon Convention Center. The organization announces that the event will focus on practical solutions to the current challenges of destination organizations, from revenue growth and community trust to building more resilient teams and measurable results. For scholarship recipients, this means they will not participate in a symbolic ceremonial reception, but in a gathering where real business and development problems of the industry are discussed.
Such a format can be especially valuable for students who have not yet had more serious contact with the professional environment. Between academic theory and a first job there is often a gap that cannot be bridged by teaching alone. Conferences, mentoring meetings, and informal conversations with people who lead destination organizations are often the place where students first gain a more concrete picture of what that job really is: how much it involves relations with the public sector, business partners, the community, and data, and how much it involves classic marketing. In that sense, attending the convention is not merely an addition to the scholarship, but one of its operationally most important elements.
A broader signal to the industry: scholarships as a tool for recruiting and retaining talent
The announcement of eight names may in itself seem like news of limited scope, but in a professional context it sends a message broader than one generation of scholarship recipients. In this way, Destinations International shows that it is trying to address the question of human capital earlier, already in the education phase, instead of only later reacting to shortages of workers and skills. It is an approach that for a long time has not been sufficiently developed in tourism. For decades, the industry counted on the attractiveness of travel, events, and working with people to ensure a sufficient number of new employees by itself. Today, it is clear that this is no longer enough, especially in segments that require a combination of managerial, communication, analytical, and developmental knowledge.
That is why Pathways to Success is also worth observing as a kind of test for future models of talent development in tourism. If scholarship recipients really do find a place after graduation in destination organizations, convention bureaus, tourism boards, hospitality, or related sectors, the program will have a measurable effect not only on their individual careers, but also on the industry’s reputation among students. If, on the other hand, it turns out that neither mentoring, nor networking, nor financial support can retain young people in the sector, that will be a signal that the problems are deeper and cannot be solved by scholarships alone. For now, however, Destinations International obviously believes that by combining money, mentoring, and professional exposure, it is possible to build a more sustainable entry path into an industry that is still seeking a new balance between growth, local interest, and workforce stability.
Sources:- Destinations International – official announcement on the 2026 Pathways to Success scholarship recipients (link)- Destinations International – official Pathways to Success program page with a description of benefits, criteria, and the list of scholarship recipients (link)- Destinations International – announcement on the opening of applications for the program and the broader framework of workforce development in the sector (link)- Destinations International – official page of the 2026 annual convention with dates and location in Portland (link)- Destinations International – page about the organization and the scope of its membership (link)- Destinations International Foundation – official page about the foundation and its role in research, talent development, and advocacy (link)- U.S. Travel Association – overview of current data on the economic impact of travel in the United States (link)- World Travel & Tourism Council – announcement and report on the future of the workforce in tourism and the possible global worker shortage by 2035 (link)
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