Racial equality in tourism

Caleigh Alleyne | July 9, 2021

It’s easy to be enamored of alluring destination campaigns, ones that evoke the desire to escape on a vacation. The sweeping shot of a white sandy beach while a couple strolls in the sunshine. The awe of kids and parents when they arrive at the mountain lookout in a national park. The joyful smiles of a group of friends gathered around a restaurant table, raising glasses to toast in celebration.

These common themes are used by tourism organizations around the world, hoping to tap into consumers' dreams and then make that reservation to visit your destination.

But there’s a common problem with many of these images and videos regularly used in marketing, advertising, and social media. Often these campaigns only show one view, one type of traveler and do not reflect the diversity of our contemporary world.

Show a broad diversity of travelers and community members

Look around the table when beginning the planning for your next campaign – do you see faces that all look alike? Adding one shade of color, like the image of a business owner in working a service role in an ethnic neighborhood is not enough and, in fact, this is a form of tokenism. Your campaign goal is to show a visitor the endless possibilities of vacation, but if you’re only using one segment of the population, it’s perpetuating a belief that your destination is welcoming only to that group.

Embrace inclusiveness now

It’s shortsighted and a missed opportunity for a destination to only market to one group. Focus your content creation on celebrating everyone with your words, images and video and use a diverse range of partners to make up your creative teams. Now is the time to address inequality, avoid offensive content and embrace inclusiveness.

Photography

It seems simple to state the obvious but, in a destination where the host population is predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and other People of Color), commission a photographer who is not white. But don’t just hire them to photograph their community or photograph their own cultural groups, let them show you the world through their lens. Go beyond and hire them to interview chefs, partake in outdoor activities and build an image back that reflects the multiculturalism of your destination.

Words

Develop a language style guide to ensure a standard for all written documents from advertising to press releases which reflects an inclusive point of view. Don’t assume someone’s heritage and if you’re including a description of a community member, ask yourself, does race need to be included? Would you use these characteristics for someone who was not BIPOC? Ask the person how they want to be described. Capitalize Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other descriptors in all text and seek out other style guides, like the Chicago Manual of Style, which regularly updates their online guide to reflect changes in language use.

Video

Avoid stereotypes by forming a video production team that is diverse and not portraying cultural groups in just cliches. Including more voices around the planning table to contribute ideas and comments helps start the path to an enviable final product that doesn’t look cookie-cutter, but is welcome content to be seen and shared.

Social media

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Twitch – social media is an opportunity to connect and share with different audiences. Showcasing photography, video and words that reflect the diversity of your community will attract a wide variety of followers. Engaging with the online community can showcase you and your staff’s belief in your destination as a welcoming space for all.

Highlighting a variety of religious and cultural festivals and holidays and having takeovers by different community groups and influencers reinforces your commitment to many voices and multiple points of view. Use engagement as a marker for influence instead of follower count and look at the impact they have within their community. Research trending and culturally relevant hashtags from reliable sources to know which to add to your list.

Responsible tourism policies

Don’t expect that you and your team will have all the answers. Ask, listen, and learn at every opportunity – whether its staff or intern, destination partner or competitor. Making it known that you’re willing to change and adapt is the best way to alter existing policy to make it more inclusive. Seek out those who are making changes or establishing policies you want to adapt for consultation during your changes or as regular checks and balances to keep change moving in the right direction. Policy should regularly evolve and like our world, should never be static.

The importance of terminology

Take time to consider the jargon, acronyms, and descriptors in what is commonly said in office communications – eliminating words that are racist, were based on racist practices or are harmful to marginalized groups in documentation and casual discourse. Make a diversity consultant an integral and regular part of your team’s schedule. Finding those people who can help guide and inform your staff can ensure “everyone welcome” is an achievable goal for your tourism content.

The tourism lens

As tourism professionals, embedding different races, beliefs and identities into your ethos will result in expanding and attracting readers, viewers, and interactions with your content. In a competitive landscape, especially post-pandemic, tourism content with comprehensive representation is a welcoming and safe signal for a wider group of travelers.