Like many industries, travel faced a reckoning in 2020. Campaigns like #PullUpForTravel, generated by the Black Travel Alliance (BTA), called on brands to move beyond performative gestures to create lasting change. Some individuals, like BTA president and diversity-in-travel consultant Martinique Lewis, have continued to hold these companies to account; for her part, Lewis (who was also a member of Traveler's 2021 Advisory Board) has started releasing an annual scorecard to assess how companies address points of diversity, like race, ability, and gender. While there's still much work to do, Lewis sees some signs of progress, with brands implementing new strategies and policies that prove diversity, equity, access, and inclusion require more than "just a short-term solution." From increasing diversity in their ranks to implementing new accessibility initiatives, these eight companies are making meaningful shifts to ensure that travel is for everyone.
In February, Hurtigruten Group announced the formation of its Black Traveler Advisory Board-a group of professionals that includes Stephanie Jones, founder and CEO of the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance, and Africa Tourism CEO Naledi K. Khabo (and a member of Traveler's own 2021 advisory board)-to advise the line on everything from engaging Black cruisers to making more diverse hires.
In January, United Airlines welcomed its inaugural class to Aviate Academy, its flight school-and the first such training program for a major U.S. carrier. By 2030, the airline is aiming for 50 percent of the pilots it trains and hires through the school to be women and people of color. Currently, more than 90 percent of pilots in the industry are white men, according to 2021 data from the U.S. Labor Department. The airline plans to boost racial and gender equity in the profession by tackling barriers that have historically blocked many would-be pilots including offering $2.4 million in scholarships through groups such as the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals and Latino Pilots Association.
For many trans and non-binary travelers, simply finding a bathroom can become a stressor when traveling-something Google helps alleviate with features it announced in 2021. Users on both Google Maps and Google Search can easily check which local places have gender-neutral bathrooms. This builds on features that allow users to find business identified as LGBTQ+ friendly or transgender safe spaces.
Airbnb's new accessibility reviews require hosts to upload photos of any such features they list, from step-free showers to wheelchair ramps. Since the initiative debuted last summer, a specialized team has verified 150,000 features in nearly 100,000 listings around the world.
This past spring, Alaska Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to nix apparel and grooming rules that fall along binary lines. (Now everyone can sport nail polish.) It has also added the option of pronoun pins for staffers, and partnered with Seattle-based designer Luly Yang to create new gender-neutral uniform pieces, to roll out in 2023.
After a Booking.com survey found that half of LGBTQ+ Americans have faced discrimination while traveling, the site dug into these challenges and built the insights into Travel Proud, a training-and-certification system. Since it rolled out last year, more than 10,000 properties-spanning 95 countries and territories-have become accredited.
In April 2021, Hilton set a target to achieve gender parity within its ranks and ensure that people of color make up 25 percent of its C-Suite by 2027. To stay accountable, the brand is reporting its progress on a public dashboard and linking its success in meeting these goals to executive compensation.
Launched this month, Tripadvisor's new owner identity tags help travelers more easily find and support businesses from a wide range of communities and backgrounds. The feature enables hoteliers and restaurateurs in the United States and Canada to self-identify using attributes such as Black-owned, Indigenous-owned, LGBTQ-owned, woman-owned, Asian-owned, and Hispanic/Latinx-owned. The tags take a cue from historic Green Book travel guides-scaling these features to the millions of hospitality businesses on the platform.
A version of this article appeared in the September/October 2022 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.