We’d like to state unequivocally: Black Lives Matter. We support protesters. We denounce racism, police brutality, and white supremacy. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Miles Hall, Oscar Grant, and countless others deserved to live. Their lives were taken due to a system rooted in violence against Black lives. That system needs to change.
Travel is inherently political. The ability to move freely within the world is a privilege not afforded to all, and it is a fact that travel is not safe for everyone, especially here in the United States. You might follow us because of our national parks, outdoors, or road trip guides, types of trips that have been unsafe for Black travelers in the past, and which continue to be inequitable due to systemic racism, bias, and oppression.
As a travel publisher, we recognize our obligations both to travelers and to the communities they visit include the impact of our decisions, from which destinations we choose to cover to how we choose to cover them. Steps we’ve been taking behind the scenes to increase the diversity of our authors, partners, and content aren’t enough. We recognize that we are far behind and we pledge to do more. Not just for today, or this week, or the next: we will work on this every day.
We know we don’t have the answers, and we want to hear from you. We invite your criticism, thoughts, and ideas for change. Let us know where we’ve fallen short and what we could do better. Use the form below or DM us on Instagram or Twitter @moonguides. We’re listening.
Change requires accountability. We’ll regularly update this page with our plans for better supporting underrepresented travelers and communities and will report on our efforts.
Here are some of our initial thoughts:
—Use our digital platforms to actively and continuously highlight and uplift underrepresented voices and communities.
—Update our series guidelines to make sure our guides include Black-owned businesses and information for travelers of color.
—Prioritize marketing partnerships with influencers who are Black, non-Black people of color, and/or LGBTQI individuals.
—Select photos that better reflect the diversity of US travelers.
Travel is a valuable way to explore culture and expand our horizons. It should be for everyone, but it won’t be until Black Lives Matter.
UPDATE & INFORMATION [9/15/2020]
Below are some of the steps we’ve been taking since June and additional audit information. We will be updating this information on a quarterly basis. For other inquiries about our diversity and inclusion goals, please reach out to us via the form on this page.
Acquisitions
No updates at this time.
Editorial
The Editorial group is intensifying our review process at every stage, with the goals of reassessing the coverage of problematic historical sites and centering non-white perspectives that have been ignored.
Book by book, we’re guiding our authors in addressing the problematic narratives around historical sites and working with them to address the experiences of oppressed and underrepresented people.
More widely, we’re working to make all our guides more inclusive by adding more resources and tips for travelers of color and LGBTQI travelers, as well as more comprehensive and strategic information on accessibility.
Marketing
We have completed the audit of our Marketing materials. As expected, much of our content featured landscapes not people, but we are committed to including more photos featuring Black travelers, taken by Black photographers, or highlighting Black business owners as we move forward.
User Generated Content in 2019/2020
Additional audit information: Moon’s marketing team has reached out to Instagram users to feature traveler photos and quotes on the interior of our book jackets since late 2018. Of the 90 non-staff members who participated in 2019 and YTD in 2020, 4 were Black travelers (4.4%).
Influencer and Content Marketing 2020 YTD and 2021 plans
We have added another Black traveler to our core group of influencers. Our core group is now represented by:
19% (3) Black travelers, 31% (5) NBPOC travelers, 50% (8) white travelers
In 2021, we hope to increase the number of BIPOC we work with regularly, and we have set specific goals around content marketing pieces highlighting underrepresented groups across our social channels and in our consumer newsletter.
Moon’s Marketing team is also developing a standardized rate sheet that fits with our budgets for micro influencers. We hope that this will allow us to be more transparent and equitable when reaching out to underrepresented travelers who may not have their own rate sheets or have worked with a company before and ensure that we are not paying BIPOC less than white influencers.
Production
The production team has narrowed its focus on the books currently in layout and in upcoming seasons. We have made the choice to intentionally include more photos of people. To do this, we are sourcing images featuring travelers of color, and are partnering with influencers to widen our scope of representation. Our aim at the moment is to get 1-2 images featuring BIPOC per book, and more where possible. We want to show, visually, that travel is for everyone, and that the outdoors is open to all of us.
Update & Information for the Black Travel Alliance [6/23/2020]
In conjunction with the Black Travel Alliance’s call for travel companies to volunteer their information, and as part of our own efforts to audit and assess where we’re at with our efforts to diversify our content, here are a few numbers from our marketing and acquisitions teams with regards to Black voices:
Acquisitions
Moon is currently working with 3 Black authors (out of approximately 120) and holds a standing contract with 1 Black freelance editor (out of 9).
Marketing
Paid Influencer Marketing
2 of the 16 influencers Moon worked with directly in 2019/2020 are Black.
In 2019/2020 Moon’s marketing team also contracted with an outside agency (Mediavine) to connect us with travel influencers. None of the 21 influencers we contracted through Mediavine were BIPOC.
Paid Advertising
Our trade advertising in 2019 & 2020 has only used photos of places with no people depicted.
Our consumer advertising was overwhelmingly photos of places, however we are still in the process of auditing this content to assess how many ads featured people.
Trade Shows
We attended four events with our authors. We had 1 Black author out of 9 total authors on stage across these events.
[Last updated: 9/15/20 11:30a PT - page updated with information about latest efforts in editorial, marketing, and production]
[Last updated: 6/23/20 3:30p PT - page updated with information about Black representation in our acquisitions and marketing]
[Last updated: 6/5/20 12:15p PT - page created]