Pitch Competitions

Each year, Black Travel Summit's pitch competitions spotlight emerging ideas and talent across the Black travel ecosystem. Through education, industry access, mentorship, and opportunities to receive or connect with capital, these programs support advancement across content creation, storytelling, entrepreneurship, marketing, and design.

Passport To Storytelling

Passport to Storytelling is the premier pitch competition designed to elevate the next generation of Black storytellers, creators, and visionaries. This program provides a rare opportunity to present original concepts directly to network partners and C-level industry executives, offering real access to the decision-makers shaping the future of film, television, and digital content.

Design Your Route: The Cruise Edition

Building on last year’s Design Your Dream competition, this year’s concept returns with a new name, a new focus, and a new industry partner. Design Your Route: The Cruise Edition, presented in partnership with AmaWaterways, invites the next generation of destination strategists, experience designers, and cultural innovators to reimagine an existing luxury river cruise itinerary through the lens of Black travelers—incorporating authentic Black experiences onboard and ashore through culture, history, cuisine, community, and storytelling.

What's The Move: Brand Breakthrough

New for this year, What’s the Move: Brand Breakthrough is where strategy meets storytelling, and where Black travel marketers prove they don’t just understand the industry—they know how to move it forward. This high-energy, fast-paced competition challenges travel marketers, creators, and strategists to step into the role of agency and visionary by developing a bold, culturally relevant, and results-driven brand awareness strategy for a Black-owned tourism brand.