TRAVEL AND TOURISM FROM A BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC PERSPECTIVE Tourism Concern is calling on people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in the UK to get involved in its new campaign looking at travel and tourism from their perspective. Its purpose is to raise awareness of tourism's impacts amongst people whose ancestry is from many of the third world holiday destinations that Britons now visit and to look at the impacts of tourism from a black perspective. A few of the topics to be considered will be: holidaymakers' experiences of racism; what people think of tourism as a tool for overseas development; racism as experienced by employees within the travel industry and contested heritage - that is, how Black, Asian and minority ethnic history is (or is not) conveyed through tourist attractions.
We feel this is an overdue development as the Black and Minority Ethnic society in the UK have been marginalised by the British tourism industry and in the dialogue about Third World development for too long. Tourism Concern believes that by including more of this voice in Tourism Concern's work, our campaigns will have even more authenticity. A productive two-way dialogue is vital to ensure that these formerly excluded members of society are included in any third world poverty relief discussion. Tourism Concern are asking people whose ancestry hails from Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, the Pacific or Latin America to complete a questionnaire about their perspective of travel and tourism. "The questionnaire will help us understand how Black and Minority Ethnic Britons feel about tourism and racism as well as about tourism as a means of helping the countries of their ancestral origin," says Michael Lomotey, Tourism Concern's Outreach Officer who's parents hail from Ghana. Tourism Concern is asking all members of the BME community, individuals and organisations to take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire. The results will be published on the Tourism Concern website and used to feed into a series of workshops, seminars and other events looking at travel and tourism from a Black and Minority Ethnic perspective. To get involved in the campaign or to request a questionnaire contact Tourism Concern: Tel. 020 7133 3331, or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---Ends--- Notes to editor: 1. For further details or interview contact Michael Lomotey; 020 7133 3330 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2. The questionnaire is available via the Tourism Concern website www.tourismconcern.org.uk ; by calling 020 7133 3330; or by e-mail 3. Tourism Concern is a charity campaigning for more ethical and fair trade tourism especially in the poorer countries of the world.
