BAME community ‘still underrepresented’ in travel industry

Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff are still underrepresented in the tourism sector with “very few”  in senior roles, according to a recent report.

Furthermore, most BAME participants surveyed for the research reported instances of “racial harassment, microaggressions and/or discrimination while travelling”.

Last year, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, agents highlighted the lack of BAME role models in travel.

Called Engaging New Travel Audiences: Understanding the UK BAME Travellers’ Decision-making Process, the report was a collaborative project between the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey and the social enterprise Women in Travel (WiT) CIC.

The findings of the report were discussed at the recent Multicultural Travel Summit, held in a hybrid format by Women in Travel.

Jamie-Lee Abtar, the multicultural lead of Women in Travel, said the report is one of the first in the UK to provide a snapshot of the travel characteristics, motivations and decision-making processes of the BAME travellers’ segment.

“These findings have significant implications for travel businesses, tourism marketers and tourism-related government entities,” she said.

The report found “substantial evidence of a lack of equality, diversity and inclusion in the travel industry”.

“Although there is an acknowledgement of some affirmative action, it is felt that there is a tendency to view all BAME travellers as a homogeneous travel segment, with little understanding of diversity within individual communities,” said the study.

Researchers from the university interviewed 550 BAME travellers and 589 White travellers for the report.

The experiences of racial harassment, microaggressions and discrimination while travelling had “a significant impact” on their perception of travel to specific destinations – but were not “a matter of surprise” for those within the BAME communities, said the researchers.

It concluded: “The travel industry, policymakers, travel media and tourism-related government bodies must have effective strategies in place to positively respond to such growing concerns of racism, inequality, diversity, and inclusion in tourism.”

It called for support for BAME travel businesses and an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) accreditation for travel businesses, as well as training for staff on issues of diversity, equality and inclusion.

As well as discussion of the report, the Multicultural Travel Summit featured panel discussions with industry experts; workshops; and keynote speeches from Patrice Gordon, head of joint ventures at Virgin Atlantic, and travel writer Lola Akinmade Akerstrom.