Sarah Khan: Empowering diverse voices in travel writing

Travel journalism is often described as being an insular and nepotistic enterprise. Though travel is so diverse, it is ironic that travel stories are usually dominated by a white, older person’s gaze.  

There is a lack of visibility of writers from the BIPOC community. Travel journalists of color have to work much harder to assert their expertise and credibility. There is a need for a more representative pool of travel writers sharing their impressions of the world and more effort should be placed  into the non-western world to drive travel narratives. Certainly, diverse perspectives will enrich our world view and amplify our humanity.

 In this episode, we speak with the gorgeous Sarah Khan, Sarah is an award-winning travel journalist who’s reported from six continents for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Bloomberg, Robb Report, and numerous other publications, and most recently was Editor in Chief of Condé Nast Traveller Middle East. Her work also appears in The Best American Travel Writing 2021 and New York Times 36 Hours: 150 Cities from Abu Dhabi to Zurich. She’s a connoisseur of global junk food, a hoarder of hotel pens, and a master at sleeping through long-haul flights; she’s lived in six countries on three continents and possesses 2.5 passports. She is also the co-founder of Travel Is Better in Color, that celebrates the varied voices in travel media and bringing the world to life with their unique perspectives

Sarah Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bysarahkhan/

Key points discussed in this episode:

1. Travel journalism is often described as an insular, nepotistic enterprise. Has this changed over the years? What were some of Sarah's challenges in breaking the barriers?
2. What motivated Sarah to start the initiative "Travel is Better in Color"? 
3. Why is it important to have the representation of the female gaze in travel writing, particularly, with the increase in female travel market?
4. Has the travel storytelling sphere evolved in unexpected ways since the start of COVID?
5. What are her  challenges as a Muslim women traveller and travel writer?


This podcast is jointly presented by:
Dr. Nisha https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishatourismexpert , Co-founder of World Women Tourism https://www.worldwomentourism.com/
Zinal Doshi, https://www.linkedin.com/in/zinal-doshi   Founder of The Flapper Life : http://theflapperlife.com