How can technology help travelers avoid discrimination?

Living in a century of technology explosion, people in many countries, especially developed countries, have become accustomed to traveling conveniently and quickly: planning travel on social networking sites, updating flight information via phone messages, booking tickets via applications, or even scanning facial recognition (face ID) to pass through security. Technology makes our trips easier than ever, but that is not always the case for minority communities that are already disadvantaged.

People of color and LGBTQ+ people are frequently canceled on travel services at a much higher rate than white and heterosexual people. According to statistics in the US, travelers of color are more likely to be denied Airbnb reservations than white travelers. Studies have also shown that face ID technology frequently misidentifies the faces of travelers of color; and airport security scanners misidentify transgender people as security threats.

Many major travel companies are looking to address this. Airbnb, for example, has banned more than 1 million user accounts for violating its policies.No discrimination, and has launched a data analytics initiative to identify and predict racist behavior. Several other international travel and tourism organizations are also moving toward building tools and policies to prevent inequality.

However, it seems that minority communities do not want to wait passively any longer. Many are using technology to create tools to protect tourists from discrimination in tourism.

Stefan Grant, a Jamaican rapper living in South Florida, experienced racism firsthand when police showed up at the door of his Airbnb rental while traveling in Atlanta in 2015 after a neighbor reported Grant and his friends as robbers who were attacking the house. Grant shared the story on social media and it went viral, with many others sharing similar experiences of being discriminated against simply because they were black.

Recognizing the difficulties that minority communities face in the travel industry, Stefan Grant founded Noirbnb, a vacation rental platform that caters to travelers of color and those who respect them. Grant says the platform aims to educate, advocate, and provide economic benefits to create an inclusive community for travelers. UsersNoirbnbwill know that "the person renting this space respects my humanity and my dignity," he said.

Other programs, such as the projectGreen Book Global, which offers city guides from the perspective of Black travelers. EatOkra connects users with more than 11,000 Black-owned restaurants across the United States, andBlappandSupportBlackOwned.comProviding on-demand information, from yoga studios to retail stores recommended by the Black community.

Another example, the applicationGreen Book Project, developed by software engineer Christian Lowe, allows travelers to determine how safe and friendly a place is based on their needs. For example, a vegan or queer person can search for feedback on a particular restaurant and see how the staff are treating their community.

“Just because I, a straight black man, find a place friendly, doesn’t mean it’s friendly to my black LGBTQ+ sister,” Lowe said.

Big tech companies are also trying to improve their search capabilities, though the results have been mixed. GoogleMaps, OpenTable, and Yelp allow users to filter for LGBTQ+-owned places. On Yelp, travelers can even search for gender-neutral public bathrooms. While “women-led businesses” can be filtered on Google, phrases including “LGBTQ+,” “transgender-safe,” and “Latino/veteran-owned places” are not. Google says the company is working to make these features more accessible to travelers as soon as possible.

In addition to the emerging digital tools and technology applications, tourists can now also search for specific hashtags on Instagram, such as #BlackInParis or #QueerSaigon, to locate places, people and events themed after that hashtag.

"Gay travelers face the same challenges as people of color," said Robert Geller, founder of the platform.FabStayz(a rental app for LGBTQ+ people), said.

Geller also shared that FabStayz and other platforms, like Misterb&b andEbab, all help bring a sense of security to tourists, so they no longer have to struggle to find safe places. "Questions are answered, worries are gone. Traveling will be like visiting a friend's house," he said.

Spartacus International Gay Guide, an international gay travel app, curates and updates thousands of LGBTQ+-friendly destinations around the world. TripIt, a travel logistics app, and GeoSure, a travel safety search app, also rank neighborhoods for safety for the LGBTQ+ community.

Many other technology tools and applications also contribute to making travel safer for people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. For example,Equaldex- a digital technology company that aggregates information about the legal rights of non-binary people, orTrans Legal Mapping Report- an information site detailing laws relating to gender reassignment in more than 140 United Nations member states.

Some other digital platforms likeMan About World LGBTQ+ Travel GuideIt has both a website and a mobile app, offers tips and advice from transgender travelers, expands opportunities to join transgender travel groups on Facebook, and more.

Kayley Whalen, owner of travel blogTrans Worldview, shared: "No matter what app or digital platform you use, I recommend connecting with your community where you want to go. There are many organizations likeAsia Pacific Transgender Network(based in 15 Asia Pacific countries) can provide a real-life look at how transgender people are treated, while also enabling you to connect with local communities."

Kayley Whalen also shared that when she traveled to Vietnam, she contactedFTM Vietnam(a non-profit organization that researches and develops the needs of the transgender male community in particular and transgender people in general) andICS Center(human rights organizations) in Vietnam, and then she immediately found a companion through these organizations.

"A trans woman picked me up at the airport on a motorbike, took me to dinner, and drove me to my Airbnb rental, just to make sure that as a trans person, I could feel safe and welcome in this country," Kayley wrote on her blog.

She also shared her perspective that similar technological applications can create spaces of inclusion and mutual respect. Travelers from all over the world can feel connected and not left out.

"I think that traveling is also a way for transgender people to assert themselves. When traveling, I clearly realize that each country has a different concept of gender," she said.

An - Photo: Internet