Although she can pinpoint many other instances of experiencing racism while traveling, Margie Jordan, the owner of Jordan Executive Travel Service, shared the example of constantly being the only person who gets asked if she’s in the right line when checking in for a first class flight.
“Often someone will come over to me, the lone Black girl in the lineup, and say ‘ma’am are you in the right line?’” said Jordan, who recently published a piece on how traveling while black comes with a different set of rules. “Questioning only me — it happens more often than not.”
Another common occurrence while traveling in the Caribbean, is that when she’s seen in the halls by white or European guests, she’s often mistaken for staff.
“I’ve been asked to go get taxis, to bring them towels, but when you look at the marketing that’s done in the Caribbean, you will see us as staff. You don’t see us as vacationers,” said Jordan. “So, it sort of perpetrates that stereotype, that whole idea that I work there, I don’t vacation there. When we travel, the things that we see in travel marketing are coming to life for us, in ways we don’t want them to.”
Jordan was among the panelists who took part in a virtual event on Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Travel and Tourism put on by Let’s Get Uncomfortable on July 7.
The session was moderated by Shalene Dudley, the founder of Latitude Concierge Travels, who also took part in a Travel Courier interview on the subject of racism in the travel industry.
“We are living in another pivotal moment and the conversations happening right now led by the Black Lives Matter movement are all too relevant to travel and tourism. Think about the people we see taking the stage at conferences, who fills the room at industry events, think about the images that dominate travel marketing and the voices that are amplified by travel publications both trade and consumer. Take a look at the executive leadership teams of any of the major travel brands,” said Dudley. “In these avenues and many more, it’s clear how despite the contributions of Black travellers and travel professionals in the industry, Black voices have long been missing from the conversation. Once you see it, you cannot un-see it… Simply put, travel and tourism is run by individuals who hardly represent those who keep the wheels turning, let alone the world we are selling.”
Jordan added that Black travellers are an overlooked, underrepresented market, and one that’s growing with Black Americans alone spending over $63 billion on travel each year.
“To not care about that is shameful, it’s sad, it’s almost disrespectful to Black people,” she said.
Maxine Gundermann, market sales manager, Eastern Ontario at Celebrity Cruises; Kier Matthews, director of sales at Classic Vacations; and Tolu Aladejebi, founder of Black in Hospitality, also took part in the session.
Aladejebi said negative experiences like having to print off a confirmation letter at check-in to prove that an overnight stay was booked by her can really make or break a trip for Black travellers.
“There is no such thing as neutral in this conversation,” Gundermann pointed out. “When we think about what is anti-Black racism, it’s not just checking yourself to say I’m not racist. It’s actively being a part and speaking up about it all. It’s no tolerance for it. You want to actively speak out against anything you hear that is in the wrong.”
In the same way that the Me Too movement called out individuals and brought many careers to a halt, Matthews said similar action must also be taken against racism.
“Me Too folks got cancelled real quickly,” he said. “We are going to have to start doing some of that in order to get people to realize.”
“I am tired of having to come back to the table for this conversation,” said Jordan. “Let’s make this the last time. Let’s just fix it. We can fix it so we never have to have this conversation again.”
Here are some takeaways on how to start ‘fixing it’ within the industry.
- Restructure HR not to protect the company and its management but to create a safe and inclusive work environment for employees.
- If you make a statement supporting Black Lives Matter and/or Black travellers, get your entire staff on board with implementing the actions you plan to take from top to bottom.
- Take efforts beyond Blackout Tuesday. Implement policies about not tolerating racism in the workplace in the same way there are policies against sexual harassment and theft.
- Do not wait for racialised employees to make a push for equity. Take the first step and check in with them to see if they feel included in your actions.
- Use the Covid-19 rebuild to implement proper anti-racism strategies, better hiring practises, pay equity, and to take a stand publicly (not just internal statements).
- Actively promote the hiring of Black employees at all levels.
- Travel agents with clients who show ignorance and bias about Black-majority destinations can re-educate them rather than simply accepting their statements.
- Learn how to market to and support Black travellers in the way that we try to support LGBTQ+ travellers or solo women. Where will they be racially profiled?
- Ensure proper representation in your press trips, FAM trips, influencer partnerships, advertising imagery, and content. You are marketing to those whom you want as clients, not to your current clientele.
- Hold companies accountable for how much action they are taking on equity and inclusion. Speak with your wallets and call out companies that are silent or are not following through with their commitments.
- Speak out when you see injustice in your own company or elsewhere.
- Those who don’t hold leadership positions can start making a difference by standing up against wrong doings and speaking up when they see injustices.
- If you witness something, don’t leave it up to the person to go to HR. Report it.
- Increase diversity and messages of inclusion across brochures, marketing, advertising, panels, keynote speakers, conferences.
- Hold companies accountable in the same way people do for environmental and sustainability concerns.
- Ensure Black staff members are making the same amount as their white counterparts.
- Tourism boards can increase their spending for events catering to Black travellers.
Those who missed the event can view the recording now:
