The travel industry is falling short on racial diversity, with only one in 33 leaders in the travel, hospitality and leisure industries identifying as being from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background.
As the Black Lives Matter movement has accelerated around the globe in recent weeks, many travel brands have had to reflect on their lack of diversity - both internally and externally - as well as consider how to address issues related to racism and racial injustice.
To show support of the Black Lives Matter movement, many companies posted a black square on social media as part of a “Blackout Tuesday” protest or have posted to their accounts with the #blacklivesmatter hashtag.
“For us, it was a slap in the face,” says diversity in travel consultant Martinique Lewis on the black-square effort, speaking during a BAME Women in Travel Initiative event, called "Racial Diversity: There is work to be done in the travel industry.”
“Why hasn’t it mattered before this point? If it has, why haven’t we seen the receipts? Our frustration came from, ‘Oh, [Black Lives Matter] matters today because you’re in quarantine and you were forced to look at this issue even though we’ve been talking about it [in travel] for the past 10 years.’”
Lewis says allyship – which is an evolutionary, action-led journey to speak up, to advocate for or make real change and to use your privilege to support others – is not a one- or two-week thing; “this is an everyday-for-the-rest-of-your-life thing.”
I don’t understand why travel companies don’t understand that travelers are being left out.
Martinique Lewis
Eulanda Osagiede, co-founder of travel blog Hey! Dip Your Toes In, says it’s important for brands to release messaging on the current state of affairs, even it if makes them uncomfortable or brings up past mistakes.
“We all should be calling out brands … and [brands should] focus on where we go from here. … If you have not released any messaging, don’t be scared … reach out and get some consulting. Go over your social media, your past,” and form that into a narrative that acknowledges mistakes and commits to doing better.
Bex Shapiro, senior editorial manager at Intrepid Travel, says the discomfort travel brands are feeling right now should be channeled into something productive. “At this juncture, there is absolutely no excuse not to,” she says.
She adds that it’s very obvious when brands are being performative. “Do the work and do it internally before you shout about the work externally,” she says.
“Get outside of your lane if you’re an employee in the company. … It is everyone’s responsibility to enact change. If you stay in your lane as a marketer or in sales or PR, that’s almost excusing you from taking action. We all have a voice, and now more than ever is the time to use it.”
Shapiro suggests emailing the CEO or HR team and asking what proactive policies are in place. “This is a journey, but you need to begin that journey with honesty and integrity and have those difficult conversations.”
More than a buzzword
Lewis says part of the problem in travel is “people don’t care as much as they say they do, and quite frankly, they’re lazy.”
“The information is out there. It’s as simple as looking up a hashtag – type in ‘Black travel’ – talk to Black travelers, speak to plus-size travelers, talk to blind travelers. If diversity and inclusion was more than a buzzword to people, then it would always be top-of-mind. … We have to start making it top-of-mind; it’s not enough to say we care about it anymore,” she says.
“I don’t understand why travel companies don’t understand that travelers are being left out. Why isn’t your internal and external reflective of that? Open your eyes and see.”
Osagiede encourages everyone – but particularly white people – to research and learn how to be an ally and not to rely only intellectual labor of colleagues or friends. “We didn’t call upon our white colleagues and ask how we navigate a white world,” she says.
She says joining collectives, webinars and programming on social media are all ways to get informed. “You’re not signing up for a moment or a movement – you’re signing up for a journey,” she says.
“If you’re going to commit, be intentional, be serious about it. Say to yourself, ‘We will not let up.’ You are going to have points where you’re going to stumble Don’t be afraid to be corrected, whether that’s in anger or frustration or love or grace. You’re going to get the full range, because people have been tired and dealing with this for 401 years.”
Grading the travel industry
Two years ago, Lewis endeavored to "grade" the travel industry on diversity efforts, scoring the industry an "F" in the category of "diversity and inclusion at travel companies."
In 2020, that grade – which is based on Lewis’ opinion after in-depth research on 55 of the world's most prominent travel brands – remains an F. In other areas, the travel industry scored a D+ in diversity in ads and promotions; a D in diversity in traditional media; a D- in diversity in travel programs and events; and a C- in overall sensitivity to diversity in travel.
“Unfortunately, when we look at travel brands or tourism boards, we don’t often see people that look like us – not just Black, I’m talking Asian, LGBTQ, plus-size, travelers who are blind, who are differently abled. We don’t see a lot of people who are reflective of what travelers look like.”
She says she’s reached out to Expedia, for example, after noticing the online travel agency, as well as Booking.com, were not including Black people in their marketing emails.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
Lewis hopes now that diversity and inclusion is on the minds of travel brands, they will use the report card to grade their own companies and conferences.
Shapiro says companies should also use this time to consider diversity training for all employees and hire consultants to make changes to certain things like terminology used on website pages.
Cecelia Adjei, brand partnerships manager for VisitBritain, also stresses the importance of hiring diverse talent, and not making excuses that diverse candidates aren’t out there.
“I think that’s so tired when people say they can’t find diversity, or ethnic minorities aren’t applying for jobs. If you think that’s not the case, then seek out resources to change the narrative.”
Adjei also notes that diverse teams reap bigger rewards – “there’s a bottom-line benefit, if not just a human one” – and suggests offering internships to university that have minority or ethnic groups, and even turning to Google to help find diverse talent.
“A lot of people don’t think there’s a problem that needs solved. They think if they tick one of those boxes, they’ve done their job. That’s clearly not enough.”
Sophie Griffiths, editor of TTG, says that for many brands, they need evidence – aka data - to wake people up about what needs changed. “How can you know if you’re championing diversity in your organization if you’re not measuring it? You haven’t looked at your market, your hiring practices. You have to show there’s a problem.”
* Watch the full session here