Black Travel Influencer Details Mistreatment By Seychelles Tourism Board
NYC-based travel and lifestyle content creator Abigail Akinyemi had been excited about the opportunity to work with the tourism board of The Seychelles. They had invited her to visit and create content to promote travel to the East African island nation. Now, however, instead of encouraging others to visit, Abigail wants to share her experience to warn travelers–especially Black travelers–about the poor treatment she received there.
Abigail was in communication with the tourism board for some time prior to her trip, which took place last month. They organized and confirmed her excursions, promising that her accommodations would also be taken care of. But as her travel time neared, there was still no confirmation of her hotel having been booked.
“They were giving me the runaround…and assured me to still come, saying my accommodations would be resolved,” said Abigail. “However, after I arrived there was nowhere for me to stay, and the tourism board did not secure my hotel in time.”
Upon her arrival in the Seychelles, Abigail found herself having to scramble to find a place to stay at the last minute. Although they had reassured her that everything would be handled by the time she got there, the tourism board never secured her accommodations.
Despite their failure to live up to their end of the agreement, the board expected Abigail to live up to hers. They insisted that she still work and deliver the agreed- upon content. Abigail cut her stay short and left the very next day. The trip turned out to be a huge disappointment in many ways.
“During my short time in the country I experienced negligence, antiblackness, and disrespect, not only from the board but also from the people, which was a huge shock.”
From the time she arrived in the Seychelles, Abigail was mistreated, starting with the airport staff. She immediately noticed a difference between the treatment she received and the treatment white travelers received.
“While trying to get a taxi, the driver spoke curtly with me when I asked about the price. His quote was 50% higher then expected, and after we agreed on his high price, he slammed the door in my face.”
Abigail is sharing her story in hopes of spreading awareness about the unfortunate reality many Black travelers face, even when traveling to Black nations. She also wants to shed light on the ill treatment of Black influencers in comparison to influencers of other races when working with tourism boards.
“Many Black Americans are eager to visit African countries, yet are treated horribly when they get there. This treatment was done to me as someone coming in to promote their country; how much worse will they treat other tourists?”
Abigail believes that if she were a white influencer working with the Seychelles tourism board, they would have been more accommodating and transparent with what they could provide.
“If you check their social media/website, there are very few Black influencers. They have a history of working with content creators and hosting them in the manner they promised me, yet they did not hold up their end of the bargain when it was time to deliver.”
“If they were clear with their communication, I could’ve made prior arrangements, but they deliberately gave me the runaround, something I know they wouldn’t do with a white influencer. When the tourism board realized they were in the wrong, instead of rectifying the situation, they asked me to stay and continue to work to create content for their platform, another thing they wouldn’t try with a white influencer."
Despite her negative experience, Abigail says she will continue working with tourism boards. However, the ordeal has helped her make some changes in the way she operates when working with them. For one, she has created a new line of questioning to utilize before leaving on a trip
Her experience has also served as a catalyst to help her redefine her standards on what she will and will not accept when collaborating with organizations. By going public with her story and shedding light on the treatment she received in the Seychelles, she hopes to spark change in the ways in how tourism boards and content creators communicate.
“There needs to be clear communication when dealing with a process as delicate as travel. With so many moving parts negligence cannot be the answer.”
Black Travel Influencer Details Mistreatment By Seychelles Tourism Board - Travel Noire
Girl bye...,, You wanted a free trip wrong destination....
ReplyDeleteI stopped in the middle, Is she saying Seychellois is rasist??? Lol Laugh out Loud .. I think she is looking for her own fame 😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely !
DeleteDear Abigail, we are appalled by this blog report, we wish to apologise for this distasteful experience you have had in Seychelles. It is very unfortunate that some people have this prejudice to color even if we see ourselves in the mirrors everyday as an African doing business in Africa. I assure you that this is an unfortunate chain of events that shows Seychelles in bad light. At Royale Suites we welcome all nationalities with same respect and dignity. Seychelles wouldn't survivea year without tourism, and ambassadors like yourself should have had a better experience to showcase our beautiful land to the rest of the world irrespective of colors. We hope you will return to see the brighter and better side.
ReplyDeleteAs a black skin coloured resident of seychelles ..I am deeply ashamed of such overwhelming situation..I know an apology want be enough. I hope our government can look up to this matter and take this as a serious issue. To not having such a sad case and bad ruined image of our country in the near future.
ReplyDeleteIt is about time someone called out our tourism industry. I believe you madam. Racism exist in all sectors of our society and it's expected to be accepted as the norm. Seychelles only want white tourists and rich middle eastern oligarchs. Even our black colleagues have this racist towards black mentality!
ReplyDeleteComplete nonsense!
ReplyDelete