When Purpose Meets Place: Meaningful Travel Summit Case Study
In April 2026, Tourism Cares brought its Meaningful Travel Summit to Asheville, North Carolina. The nonprofit helps the travel industry show that tourism can be a true force for good, and it found a host city already living that mission.
The summit was built around the local community as attendees spent a day of learning at the YMI Cultural Center, a hands-on Experience Day with local impact partners, and a final day making personal commitments to carry those lessons home.
As Tourism Cares CEO Greg Takahara put it, "The local community wasn't just part of the event, they were the event."
Hear From the Planner
Watch our conversation with Greg Takahara on why Asheville was the right fit, how local partners shaped the attendee experience, and what a destination can do to extend a meeting's impact long after attendees head home.
Purpose in Action
Tourism Cares and Explore Asheville teamed up to build out Asheville's listings on the Meaningful Travel Map, a network of more than 900 vetted impact partners.
"When we stepped into the room, we stepped into Asheville," Takahara said.
Those partners became the heart of the summit's Experience Day, including:
- Asheville Free Walking Tours, which uses a pay-as-you-can model to make local history and culture accessible to all
- Hood Huggers International, which shares the stories of neighborhoods that are often overlooked
- Equal Plates, Homegrown and Food Rescue, local food partners that connected attendees to the region and kept the benefits in the community
- RiverLink, which hosted a hands-on volunteer project along the river
Plan Your Purpose-Driven Meeting
In Asheville, the destination amplifies the meeting's goals. Our team helps planners design experiences, not just meetings, connecting you with the local partners, distinctive venues and community stories that give a gathering lasting impact.
