In this episode of the Active Action Podcast, host Dr. Nazif interviews Taricka Clinton, CEO and founder of Travel Landseairge. They discuss the significant lack of representation in travel media for Black, LGBTQ and other marginalized communities. Taricka shares her personal journey and the inception of her company, emphasizing the importance of diverse travel content. Through their conversation, listeners will learn about the impact of inclusive travel marketing, barriers faced by minority travel creators, and the power of authentic storytelling in travel content. Taricka also highlights how brands like Marriott Bonvoy and Expedia are making strides toward inclusivity. Tune in to learn why seeing oneself represented in travel media is crucial and how it shapes global travel trends.
What You’ll Learn:
- The significance of representation in travel media and ads for Blacks and other marginalized travel content creators.
- The impact of underrepresented travelers shaping global travel trends.
- How diverse travel influencers can partner with companies for better inclusivity.
- Why authentic storytelling is crucial in travel content creation.
- How travel companies can better support BIPOC and LGBTQ+ travelers.
- Ways to break barriers and foster inclusive travel experiences
Click Here to read a blog related to this episode.
Be sure to check the webpage of Taricka at the Active Action Podcast Website to learn more about her work, and ways to connect with her.
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- [00:00:00] - Episode Highlights
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 I don't see any Black people here. Do we belong
00:00:01 --> 00:00:06 here? We're only represented by 3%, but we're
00:00:06 --> 00:00:11 spending billions in travel. The representation
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 is important because it represents who you are
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 and seeing yourself in that space. Billions of
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 dollars in traveling. You're not worried about
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 safety when you're taking our money. You don't
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 want to... Show us and represent us and show
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 us in the media and show what we bring to the
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 area, because truthfully, culture is black culture,
00:00:31 --> 00:00:35 right? Whatever African -Americans go on, what
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 they do, it seems like that's where the trends
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 follow and that's where they go. When you're
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 creating content and you're being your authentic
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 self, people connect to it more because I'm watching
00:00:44 --> 00:00:49 the content, but I'm also watching you. I'm connecting
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 to you when you can match the two. and have the
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 travel content and the storytelling, your content
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 is amazing. People love it. I love it. I will
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 sit and watch all day, as we all do. Amazing.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 You're tuned into the Active Action Podcast.
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00:01:45 --> 00:01:50 relax, and enjoy this episode. Hello, welcome
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 back again to another episode of Active Action
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 Podcast. It's me, your host, Dr. Nazif, back
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 again with another amazing guest and amazing
00:01:58 --> 00:02:03 episode through which we wish to inspire you
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 to stay active and take action. A couple of announcements.
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00:02:37 --> 00:02:41 by going to activeaction .shop. So let's dive
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 into today's podcast. We are going to talk a
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 lot about traveling and traveling content. So
00:02:48 --> 00:02:53 we have our guest with us, Terika Clinton. So
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 we are going to talk about representation in
00:02:56 --> 00:03:00 travel and why it actually matters. Terika Clinton
00:03:00 --> 00:03:04 is the CEO and founder of Travel Landseairge.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 So Terika, do you want to introduce yourself
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 to our guests? Yes, my name is Terica Clinton.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:16 I am CEO and founder of Travel Landseairge. I know
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 it's a bit of a tongue twister there, but I'll
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 give you a little history about it. There's not
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 much history. It's just when I was thinking of
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 a name for the company, trying to come up with
00:03:25 --> 00:03:28 something fun and creative. I see travel creators
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 and I wanted it to stand out. So I see them a
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 bit like a concierge. So when you go to a hotel.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 Or you're traveling, you find a concierge. Like,
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 hey, where's the best restaurant? Or where do
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 we go around here for this? That's what a travel
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 creator does. And so when I was coming up with
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 the name, it was like, okay, Lancier, Lancier.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:53 It just made sense. And Travel Landseairge. That's
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 how I came up with it. Thank you so much. Do
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 you want to speak a bit to our audience about
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 your background? That actually helps our audience
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 to connect more with you. Yeah, absolutely. My
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 background, I'm born and raised in Chicago. I'm
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 a wife, mom, daughter, sister, all of the above.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 And I actually, I got started in tribal, I want
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 to say maybe around 2015. My husband and I started
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 a web series, Uncharted Territory. So I'm Terrica,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 he's Tori. Territory, it just made sense. Again,
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 another one. That's wonderful. Pretty clever.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:30 Yeah. Thank you. As we were, now when we started,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 this was pre... video on instagram so before
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 on instagram pictures so we were creating an
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 actual show for like network television and it
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 was a lot of struggle with getting just exposure
00:04:42 --> 00:04:46 and then trying to do the youtube and so as time
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 went on we would create um episodes but we weren't
00:04:49 --> 00:04:53 getting the exposure that we wanted and so we
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 started to get ready to get a pivot on what we
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 were going to go and what we were going to do
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 with it. So we took a pause. And in that time,
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 we were both working, raising a family. In 2022,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 we took a trip to Tennessee. A family of four.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 And we went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. And I
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 was so excited for Co -op Day, and I was surprised
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 at my husband. He had to drive, so it wasn't
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 really a surprise. But none of us had ever been.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 So there, and we're driving around, and we're
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 all in awe and enamored of everything that we
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 see. And then all of a sudden, my husband and
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 I give each other this look, like before we could
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 say anything, our daughter, who was about seven
00:05:31 --> 00:05:35 or eight at the time, she was like, I don't see
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 any black people here. Do we belong here? We
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 freaked out. We both did. Now, my husband is
00:05:41 --> 00:05:46 a cop. So this is our family. And while our children
00:05:46 --> 00:05:50 have never experienced racism, it froze us for
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 a moment because we've never experienced that
00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 or even had to think. Do I belong here? So immediately
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 I jumped on my Instagram and I started looking
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 up Pigeon Forge to find where I got the inspiration
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 from. And it was all white creators. I could
00:06:04 --> 00:06:08 not find a black creator to say, you can do this.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 I remember Tennessee is the South. So we're like,
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 OK, what are we going to do? So my husband and
00:06:15 --> 00:06:16 I agree. We was like, we're going to check into
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 the hotel. Let's walk around. If we don't feel
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 comfortable, then we'll just leave. And that
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 was the plan. So we get out. We check in. We
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 start walking around. And I want to say within
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 five minutes, all of that was washed away. We
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 saw everything. We saw black. We saw white. We
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 saw purple. We saw brown. We saw blue. We saw
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 that. And we had an amazing time. And to this
00:06:39 --> 00:06:43 day, my kids have been some of everywhere. They
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 still ask, when are we going back to Tennessee?
00:06:45 --> 00:06:51 But that started me on the pivot of. Something
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 has to be done here. Like, where are the Black
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 creators? It's a secret world. You have to search
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 for them and hunt for them and find where they
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 are, what they're doing. Should we go here? Should
00:07:01 --> 00:07:05 we not? And so I wanted to create a space for
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 BIPOC creators, travel creators, to get their
00:07:08 --> 00:07:12 content and build itineraries and get inspiration
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 from their content. But as we started to build
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 it, I was like, okay, I don't want this to just
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 be a Black... Just for Black creators, I want
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 to open the space up because I want other ethnicities
00:07:22 --> 00:07:26 to be able to see themselves in travel. And that's
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 what brought us here today, representation and
00:07:29 --> 00:07:33 travel. And you might want to see where are some
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 Asian people, where are they going and what are
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 they doing? I've never been to Japan, but I would
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 love to see African -Americans when they go to
00:07:40 --> 00:07:44 Japan. That's how it started. And that's the
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 background. And so immediately after that trip,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 like on that 10 hour drive home, I was putting
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 it together in my head, what I wanted to do and
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 how I wanted to do it. And I got home and started
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 building. Thank you so much for walking us through
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 that journey. Can I ask you one question regarding,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 we are talking about representation in travel
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 and why it matters and we are breaking some barriers.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 So why do you think the importance of seeing
00:08:09 --> 00:08:15 yourself in travel? Media and ads. Because, so
00:08:15 --> 00:08:19 I want to say in 2019, Nielsen did a research
00:08:19 --> 00:08:23 and only 3 % of media and ads showed African
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 -American travelers. 3 % is not enough because
00:08:26 --> 00:08:30 in 2019 also, I want to say, I believe the numbers,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 African -Americans or BIPOC travelers rather,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:40 they spent over $109 billion in travel. We're
00:08:40 --> 00:08:44 only represented by 3%, but we're spending billions
00:08:44 --> 00:08:48 in travel. The representation is important because
00:08:48 --> 00:08:51 it represents who you are and seeing yourself
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 in that space. Just like representation, for
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 example, when Obama became president, that was
00:08:55 --> 00:09:00 important for black men and women to see a black
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 man can make it into the White House. The representation
00:09:02 --> 00:09:06 was important. Again, going to Pigeon Forest,
00:09:06 --> 00:09:10 Tennessee, I saw content. from white creators,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 and I felt that I belonged. It wasn't until I
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 got there. So seeing yourself in those spaces
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 allows you to know that you belong in that space,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 that you can travel to that. Right, right, yeah.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 Well, that's why it's so important. And it also,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:29 for media to purchase with African -American
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 or BIPOC small businesses, people travel to these
00:09:32 --> 00:09:36 states and to these countries. And they're not
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 represented, but they're also not represented
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 in these small businesses that people can participate
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 in. Okay. Thank you so much for explaining that.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 And I really think it's high time the people
00:09:46 --> 00:09:50 of color, they should stand up, they be illustrated
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 or represented through the nature that they do
00:09:53 --> 00:09:57 deserve and get that spotlight. So I really commend
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 you contributing to that community and really
00:10:00 --> 00:10:04 appreciate that. Absolutely. Also, I just want
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 to add, when it comes to brand deals, a lot of
00:10:06 --> 00:10:10 the white, and this is, you know, our fair scan
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 brothers and sisters, they get majority of these
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 brand deals. And a lot of these creators, these
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 travel creators, BIPOC travel creators, they
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 are not getting the money that they could and
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 should be getting along with their counterparts.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:28 Okay. Can you tell me why do you think this representation
00:10:28 --> 00:10:33 in travel is still lacking? Why do I think it's
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 lacking? Because I think it's just, it's built
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 off of an old system. My personal opinion is
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 the way things were. I think it's still that
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 mindset of, well, they just prefer to see white
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 people because they feel safer. If they feel
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 like it's too many black people, they may feel
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 like it's not safe. And so I think that's just
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 built off of that old mindset. And that's why
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 it's still lacking. Because like I said, we spend
00:10:57 --> 00:11:03 billions of dollars in traveling. you're not
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 worried about safety when you're taking our money
00:11:05 --> 00:11:09 you don't want to show us and represent us and
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 show us in the media and show what we bring to
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 the area because truthfully culture is black
00:11:15 --> 00:11:19 culture right whatever african america is going
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 what they do it seems like that's where the trends
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 follow and that's where they go so i think my
00:11:24 --> 00:11:28 personal opinion is that it's still the old mindset
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 of so many things in this country of america
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 which is why that it's still lacking so much.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 And that's why I said that I'm hoping to help
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 change and disrupt, which is to get rid of that
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45 mindset. We all belong. Yeah, for sure. And I'm
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 sure, like, from my experience, I have worked
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 with people of all colors, and sometimes, like,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 I have seen, like, the people of, like, the white
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 color and our brothers and sisters. They're pretty
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 open to accepting that if we have that proper
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 communication and channels. So I think it's very
00:12:01 --> 00:12:05 important that how we are doing that communication.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 I know there were several movements and it actually
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 brought in a lot of awareness on Black people
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 and Black lives and everything like that we do
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 and stand for. So I think that mindset that you're
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 talking about is definitely evolving, but we
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 need the right tools to represent us. And I'm
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 so glad that Black people like you are standing
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 up to do that. Really appreciate it. Thank you.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 Thank you so much. I'd like to add to that to
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 say, with the climate that we live in today,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 right now, I think it's extra important, especially
00:12:37 --> 00:12:41 for underrepresented groups like LGBTQ community.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:46 We're starting to see where some hate is starting
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 to build up, right? Because of this discrimination
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 and some of the things that they're putting out
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 there. And so they also need to know where they
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 can travel to be safe. They're not accepted everywhere
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 either. So that's important because now you have
00:12:59 --> 00:13:03 another community. And I want to say they spent,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:11 I think in 2022, $200 million in travel. So you
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 have the marginalized groups that travel, they
00:13:14 --> 00:13:18 spend money and follow these travel trends. Yet
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 they're still dealing with, do I belong here?
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 They have to ask themselves, am I safe here?
00:13:24 --> 00:13:28 Is it safe for me to travel here? It can be that
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 way, not just because you're spending money,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:34 but because you're a human. Right. So we come
00:13:34 --> 00:13:37 in different shapes, shades, colors, shapes and
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 sizes. But at the end of the day, we all bleed
00:13:40 --> 00:13:45 red blood, right? Yeah, for sure. 100%. I wanted
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 to ask you, how does the lack of diverse marketing
00:13:48 --> 00:13:54 in travel impacts travelers of color? How does
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 it impact them? I would say for a lot of travelers,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 they don't want to go. For many, many years,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 a lot of BIPOC or African -American travelers
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 never wanted to go to Africa because the images
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 we ever saw of Africa were what? Flies, hungry.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 So it was like, why would I want to go there?
00:14:10 --> 00:14:15 But as we've grown wiser, we've learned that
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 there's so much more to Africa that is actually
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 really beautiful. There's a lot of places that
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 you can travel. We've learned that Africa is
00:14:22 --> 00:14:26 actually... ginormous with the united states
00:14:26 --> 00:14:30 the side of africa like five times so the lack
00:14:30 --> 00:14:34 of diversity it makes people not want to go why
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 would i go there i don't belong there until you
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 start to see i was just starting to see more
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 african -americans and it's been going on for
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 a while but you're saying more content of it
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 of going skiing being out in aspen colorado but
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 you're saying more content of it but because
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 of that now you're seeing more people go skiing
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 for African Americans. So you're seeing them
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 move around. But when you have that lack of diversity,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 it doesn't tell people that they can go there.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 And for people that may want to travel or just
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 curious, I don't see anybody going. Like I said,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 with the Pigeon Forge, I was curious. I saw it
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 and I wanted to go. I have a good time. I never
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 thought about it. But for places, like I said,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 as growing up, Africa was never on my list of
00:15:12 --> 00:15:16 places to go. Because what did I ever see? was
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 what i saw in the commercials what they wanted
00:15:18 --> 00:15:22 us to see and what they wanted us right so visual
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 thing is it impacts us a lot and it provides
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 imaginary like scenery that we see and the perception
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 it really media actually controls like what perception
00:15:30 --> 00:15:34 we have of people and of a specific nation ethnicity
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 or even the country it's all like media because
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 we don't have the opportunity to go there we
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 don't have the opportunity or time to see and
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 dive into the internet and find out facts but
00:15:47 --> 00:15:51 we largely get motivated by what we see in the
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 media and how someone is representing a certain
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 thing so yeah it's really important to have that
00:15:58 --> 00:16:02 perception and the wish to understand a culture
00:16:02 --> 00:16:06 better have you ever felt excluded from mainstream
00:16:06 --> 00:16:13 travel marketing at all Yes and no. I would say
00:16:13 --> 00:16:17 no in the sense that it wasn't like no one came
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 to me directly. No, you can't go there. You can't
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 do that. However, as a travel creator, yeah,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:27 I felt because I was a woman, well, not necessarily
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 a woman, but an African -American creator, I
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 was automatically put in a box. And it was like,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 you can play here, but you can't play out here.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:38 And as a travel creator, that's how I felt. By
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 just trying to get more exposure, because I'm
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 from Chicago, so creating content for Chicago,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 I was like, and I'm on the south side of Chicago,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 so creating that content and wanting to get more
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 exposure and put it out there, I personally started
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 to feel, as a Black creator, travel creator,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 I was in the box. And as long as I did not color
00:16:58 --> 00:17:02 outside of those lines, it was okay. What I want
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 to disrupt and what I want to get rid of is remove
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 that box. Every reader should be able to color
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 outside of the lines and go where they want and
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 do what they want and not feel like because I'm
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 an Asian creator, I can only create this kind
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 of content. Why here? And I won't get my content
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 won't get pushed and I won't get that exposure.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 Just be open. And that's what our network is
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 doing. We're going to remove those barriers.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 Right. Thank you so much for sharing your words
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 of wisdom. Can I ask you for some examples of
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 brands that are doing a good job with inclusive
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 travel marketing from experience? Some brands
00:17:38 --> 00:17:42 that are doing good. Oh, geez. Marriott Bonvoy.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 They would be number one on my list. I would
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 say because every time I'm on the internet, I
00:17:49 --> 00:17:53 see a lot of inclusion with Marriott Bomb Boy.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 Well, they have programs. Expedia is another
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 one. They're doing great. They have some great
00:17:58 --> 00:18:01 programs to work with as Marriott Bomb Boy. And
00:18:01 --> 00:18:05 I won't even go so far as to say once on a some
00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 level, TikTok, I see TikTok doing more with the
00:18:08 --> 00:18:12 Black creators. And again, I don't want to just...
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 say just black creators because there are other
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 you have lgbtq you hang out black female creators
00:18:19 --> 00:18:24 or solo travel so but that's just kind of like
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 where the conversation is going right but i would
00:18:26 --> 00:18:30 say those would be off the top of my head right
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 now that i'm thinking about that are doing really
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 good right now especially the the first two marriott
00:18:35 --> 00:18:40 bomb boy and exp thank you so much and i hope
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 like more platforms and creators will step up
00:18:43 --> 00:18:47 and support like Black creators and under -representative
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 communities more and there will be like more
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 opportunity for engagements. What do you think
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 like from your experience are some ways travel
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 companies can partner with the Black and the
00:18:58 --> 00:19:01 other under -representative travel influencers?
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 You know what it's really getting into that almost
00:19:05 --> 00:19:09 into that world. Follow them. And start reaching
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 out and helping create more content with them.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:16 So we've heard the stories of how they do these
00:19:16 --> 00:19:19 PR. It's well known in fashion and the beauty
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 industry. And I know they do it with travel as
00:19:21 --> 00:19:25 well. They can also bring out more diverse travel
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 creators to these events. Not just to get their
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 experience, I mean their perspective, but to
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 also hear their stories. Storytelling is extremely
00:19:33 --> 00:19:38 important. A BIPOC story of traveling on the
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 South Side is going to be vastly different from
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 their white counterparts traveling on the South
00:19:43 --> 00:19:46 Side and going out. So I would say you have to
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 get in there, find them. They're there. There
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 are different organizations that represent creators,
00:19:52 --> 00:19:55 travel blog creators, BIPOC, you know, LGBTQ,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 again, for the marginalized groups that I'm speaking
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 of, which is narrowly down to BIPOC and LGBTQ.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 So I would say that would be the biggest way.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 You have companies like Travel Noir. You have
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 other ones out there that work with Black creators,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:14 that post Black creators all the time, that you
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 can go and find this and work with them. But
00:20:16 --> 00:20:20 again, this is a barrier that our network is
00:20:20 --> 00:20:24 working to disrupt and to break. And I wanted
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 to ask you this question because I feel like
00:20:26 --> 00:20:30 our Black people and other community are currently
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 representing themselves in the global platform.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 more with time so from experience how do you
00:20:37 --> 00:20:41 feel underrepresented travelers shape the global
00:20:41 --> 00:20:45 travel trends you know what okay so as i stated
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 earlier travel trends trends period right and
00:20:48 --> 00:20:52 african -american i feel like a lot of what we
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 see in culture today is african -american culture
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 this is the black culture the trends that we
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 sent where we're going to what we're doing right
00:20:58 --> 00:21:03 now there's a big big trend on um carnival I'm
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 saying carnival is starting to come up. A lot
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 of people are starting to go to carnival. They're
00:21:07 --> 00:21:12 getting the outfits, how they shape it just by
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 being themselves. They're authentic now, just
00:21:15 --> 00:21:19 like they do any other trend. So with travel
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 trends, and this is what I love about the trends
00:21:22 --> 00:21:26 is that you will find these marginalized or underrepresented
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 groups in all of these travel trends. And so
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 when you think of travel, a lot of what you see
00:21:31 --> 00:21:35 are, Either experiences like, hey, let's go here
00:21:35 --> 00:21:39 and let's do this. Or food. Majority of it is
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 food and drink, right? But there's so much more
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 to that. You have wellness travel. You have people
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 that travel, historical travel, where they travel
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 to different locations to find out the history
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 of the location, of the city, how it came to
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 be. The wellness is they like to go for yoga
00:21:54 --> 00:21:58 retreats or they are going for wellness to go
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 find out more about themselves. They're going
00:22:00 --> 00:22:04 on hiking tours. There are so many different
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 trends out there and you will find these marginalized
00:22:06 --> 00:22:09 groups in all of them. And if you look at the
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 content, you'll start to see a lot of this content
00:22:12 --> 00:22:15 out there as well. Again, but it's not mainstream.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:18 It's not pushed to the front. You have to really
00:22:18 --> 00:22:22 search for it. And that's the problem. And that's
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 how they're shaping. Once we start to really
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 push it, then you begin to see where a lot of
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 these trends are coming from and where it's starting
00:22:28 --> 00:22:32 and where it's coming from, which is. Again,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:36 and shameless plug, but this is what our network
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 is doing and pushing this content to the front
00:22:38 --> 00:22:42 so people can see it. That's wonderful. And I
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44 really commend you, Tarika, for undertaking that
00:22:44 --> 00:22:48 work and to support that. I want to ask you,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:51 and we are like nearing to the end of our podcast,
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 but I want to ask you from your experience. I
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 know like you create like travel content. So
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 for all the travel content creators out there,
00:23:00 --> 00:23:03 Why do you feel authentic storytelling is so
00:23:03 --> 00:23:07 important in travel content? Well, you know what?
00:23:07 --> 00:23:10 I think it's important because authenticity is
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 important. The more authentic it is, the more
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 real it is. One of the reasons I believe TikTok
00:23:16 --> 00:23:20 has done so well is because the creators have
00:23:20 --> 00:23:25 made it more of and as much as they can to allow
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27 you to be yourself. So you'll see a lot of creators
00:23:27 --> 00:23:30 out there. with bonnets on, no makeup. And you're
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 talking about some professional people that come
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 on to TikTok with no makeup, the hair all over
00:23:35 --> 00:23:39 the head. But you're being your authentic self.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 When you're creating content and you're being
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 your authentic self, people connect to it more
00:23:43 --> 00:23:47 because I'm watching the content, but I'm also
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 watching you. I'm connecting to you. If I don't
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 like you, I'm not going to like your content.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 We're extremely critical. You can tell right
00:23:56 --> 00:23:59 away when someone is phony. So being able to
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02 tell a story, again, that's why on TikTok, storytelling,
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 you say, hey, story time. It does so well because
00:24:05 --> 00:24:09 people love to engage with a story. They love
00:24:09 --> 00:24:12 to hear what's happening. And when you can match
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 the two and have the travel content and a story
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 tell, your content is amazing. People love it.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 I love it. I will sit and watch all day, as we
00:24:21 --> 00:24:25 all do. Amazing. Yes. Tell a story about where
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 you are, how you got there, what you're doing,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:31 why you're there. Oh, that's amazing. I'm putting
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 myself in your shoes and I'm listening. So now
00:24:34 --> 00:24:37 I like how you travel. I like your storytelling.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:40 I'm going to watch a video to see what you're
00:24:40 --> 00:24:45 doing in your place. As I imagine me doing this,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 which is going to inspire me now. Hey, let me
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 go something probably I've never done before
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 or never knew about or now I'm curious about.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 Because I watched you and I liked what you did.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 Thank you so much for explaining that very wonderfully
00:24:59 --> 00:25:02 said. And I think that would also be an inspiration
00:25:02 --> 00:25:06 to all the travel content creators out there,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09 the enthusiasts, to include more storytelling
00:25:09 --> 00:25:12 conference within their content. So definitely
00:25:12 --> 00:25:15 it adds value to your content and the viewers
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 really get attracted and they start. to your
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 content and that leads to increased viewership
00:25:21 --> 00:25:24 to future episodes as well absolutely increased
00:25:24 --> 00:25:27 engagement I just wanted to end the episode just
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 by saying I really appreciate you coming over
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 here and just for the benefit for our listeners
00:25:32 --> 00:25:38 how can they connect with you for further information
00:25:38 --> 00:25:42 or to know more yes so you can follow me on social
00:25:42 --> 00:25:46 media it in Or Travelancierge. If you're on TikTok,
00:25:46 --> 00:25:49 it's Travelancierge with the number one behind
00:25:49 --> 00:25:54 it. Or Travelancierge on Instagram. And if you
00:25:54 --> 00:25:58 want to email me, it's info at Travelancierge.
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 Yes. Or you can go to the website, which is www
00:26:01 --> 00:26:06 .travelancierge .com. All one word. Who else?
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 Thank you so much, Terike, for letting us know.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 And also, dear listeners, if you go to our website
00:26:12 --> 00:26:16 and... activeaction .fm. And if you just search
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 Terika's name, which you can see in the screen,
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 and also you'll be able to see that in the podcast
00:26:20 --> 00:26:23 description. If you just search her name, you
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 will gain access to her webpage. And that will
00:26:25 --> 00:26:28 include her bio and also all the links that she
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 mentioned so that you can get in touch with her
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 to ease. And also, if you have any questions
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 with her, please feel free to reach out to her
00:26:35 --> 00:26:40 at info at travelandsearch .com. Thank you so
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 much, Erika, again for joining this episode.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45 And I really appreciate your time. Yes, thank
00:26:45 --> 00:26:48 you so much. I appreciate you having me on. Dear
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 listeners, we were talking to Erika and we actually
00:26:50 --> 00:26:53 got to learn a lot about travel, traveling content,
00:26:53 --> 00:26:57 and specifically the value of the Black community
00:26:57 --> 00:27:00 and the Black people, us, representing in this
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 landscape and the platform. And also you got
00:27:03 --> 00:27:06 to learn why authentic storytelling is really
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 important. in creating the travel content. So
00:27:08 --> 00:27:11 that was it for today's episode. If you liked
00:27:11 --> 00:27:15 the episode, please feel free to send us your
00:27:15 --> 00:27:18 feedback, your review, and share the episode
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00:27:40 --> 00:27:48 next episode arrives. Thank you for joining us
00:27:48 --> 00:27:51 on the Active Action Podcast at activeaction
00:27:51 --> 00:27:54 .fm. We hope today's episode gave you some entertainment,
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