Before watching a diversity and travel panel, I thought I could see myself traveling just about anywhere. I realized in the days following that I was wrong. Travel privilege is real, and it’s wise to be aware of it.
Further reading & learning:
About a month ago, I sat in on a panel about diversity and travel. The panel was made up of four people:
- Curb Free Cory Lee – A wheelchair-bound traveler and accessibility advocate
- Fat Girls Traveling‘s Annette Richmond – The voice for plus size women who want to travel
- A representative of Midcoast Maine & Islands Tourism Board
- Diversity consultant Martinique Lewis
I sat in the front row with my notebook open, ready to soak up all the things I learned from them. And let me tell ya, it was plentiful.
What I Learned about Privilege and Travel
One specific topic that came up was the idea of safety. I’ve lived in a bubble where the biggest threat to my safety as a woman was my self-awareness. However, the people speaking on the panel had to think a bit deeper about their safety. They asked themselves questions like, “Will I be made fun of?” and “Will I be assaulted simply because of how I look?”
I also learned that I have never had to google, ‘Racism in ___’ and ‘Safest places to go as a ____ person’. This is privilege – assuming the world is going to accept me.
The questions then turned to something like, “If I don’t see myself represented in advertisements, tourism publications, and in content online, I don’t know if it’s truly safe for me to go there.”
This struck me. I couldn’t think of a single time that I didn’t go somewhere just because I couldn’t picture myself there. To be honest, I kind of rejected their perspective thinking that it was a bit extreme. This is travel privilege.
Travel Privilege
Two days later, I was on Facebook and saw a video come up in a travel group that I’m a part of. Someone had posted this video about Saudi Arabian toursim, and it changed my train of thought 180 degrees. The video shows women touring museums together, driving fancy cars, and doing it all without their hair covered. Some of the women in the video were blonde and some were black. Here’s the thing – until I saw this video, my internal dialogue was, “I don’t think I’m even allowed into Saudi, I’m not Muslim”. Now, I can totally see myself visiting.
A few days later, I saw a bunch of content creators that I follow on Instagram visiting Accra, Ghana for the Year of Return. I thought to myself, ‘I can’t go there, I’m not ‘returning”.
Last week, a content creator that I follow posted a video about how Pakistan has opened its doors to tourists. They have created myriad programs to attract people, but that people largely aren’t coming due to a past reputation that the country earned.
The bottom line is, that I have the privilege of choosing where I go. I can get to the tops of mountains and I can get strangers to trust me. It’s because of who I am, both on the inside and outside. Not everyone has the privileges that I do.
The Point
My point is this: I am going to travel everywhere, and it’s not going to be easy. I’m 49 countries in and won’t stop. However, it’s important on a grander scheme to lift as we climb. By which I mean, as I travel far and wide, and as others do, we can pave a way to help others see themselves in new places as well.
When we travel, we understand each other better. When we understand each other, we can create connections and peace from the ground up.
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Your last line is beautiful and so is this entire post! Keep learning, keep inspiring! 🙂