The Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference Mentorship Program provides Minnesota travel and tourism industry professionals with an opportunity to mentor scholarship recipients at the 2026 Tourism Conference to be held on Feb. 11-12, 2026, in Duluth.
Scholarships are awarded to applicants from Minnesota’s 11 Tribal Nations and students who are interested in careers in travel, leisure and hospitality. Scholarship recipients are matched with industry mentors to help facilitate learning about the industry and to make introductions to other industry professionals for networking.
Mentors will be matched with up to two scholarship recipients.
The Tourism Conference Mentorship program is open to any professional in Minnesota's travel and tourism industry with at least three years of related experience.
Applications are subject to approval and will be awarded based on need.
Mentors are selected at the sole discretion of Explore Minnesota.
Failure to meet program requirements may result in forfeiting benefits.
Mentor responsibilities:
- Mentors must schedule a one-on-one virtual or in-person meeting with scholarship recipient(s) assigned to them at least one week prior to the conference start date.
- Mentors must meet their assigned scholarship recipient(s) at the start of the conference and allow them to shadow you throughout the event.
- Mentors must act as an ambassador for Minnesota’s tourism and travel industry, be welcoming and open to questions, actively make introductions to others and provide information and resources to the best of their ability.
Mentor benefits:
- Complimentary full conference registration which includes all programming, breakfast, lunch and breaks as outlined in the official conference program.
- Mileage reimbursement from mentor’s work location to Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (one direct round trip) may be reimbursed at the 2026 standard federal rate. Appropriate reimbursement paperwork must be completed to receive reimbursement.
- Mentor recognition at a general session
- Please note: All other expenses will be at the mentor’s own expense.
Timeline for Scholarship/Mentorship program:
- Sep. 25, 2025: Application period opens
- Nov. 7, 2025: Application period ends
- Nov. 14, 2025: Applicants will be notified of their scholarship status
- Feb. 2 - Feb. 10, 2026: Scholarship recipients meet with assigned mentors via video or in person
- Feb. 11-12, 2026: Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference
- March 6, 2026: Deadline to turn in mileage reimbursement forms for payment