Posted 28 June, 2020

At Moose Travel Network, we believe that travel helps to promote greater understanding and respect between all people, regardless of cultural or ancestral background, identity, or ability. One of our goals is to bring together individuals for a shared adventure that will not only show them the beauty of Western Canada and our many peoples, but will also broaden their experience by connecting them with a diverse group of other travellers from across the globe.

However, we recognize that for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, solo women, and others from marginalized groups, there are still barriers to travel, and to employment in the travel industry. As a Person of Colour, I have faced these barriers myself, both while travelling abroad, and here in Canada. And while I have been able to fight through these barriers, I know that not everyone has the means to do so, for various reasons. As a travel company, we can certainly do more to help remove those barriers, be more inclusive, and increase diversity within the travel industry.

To that effect, we have developed a working action plan to support that objective. That plan is posted below, and we will continue to update it as we make progress. But we certainly don’t have all the solutions, and we’re not going to get everything right. We therefore welcome your suggestions and feedback, as well as stories from your own related experiences in travel, both positive and negative. Please email us at: nobarriers@moosebus.travel

We’re committed to doing our part in helping all feel welcome and safe, not only on our tours, but also while working for our company, and in the greater world. We hope you join us in doing so wherever you live, work, and travel.

We will undertake the following actions, in support of our goal of helping the travel industry be more inclusive and diverse, and to help remove barriers to travel for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, solo women, and others from marginalized groups:

• proactively searching out, and contracting or frequenting businesses owned or managed by people from marginalized groups on our tours
• proactively recruiting for staff from within marginalized communities
• training for all staff on being anti-racist, welcoming, inclusive, and respectful/mindful of the potentially special sensitivities of travellers that often face discrimination
• offering mentorship and info sessions about travel and careers in the travel industry within communities that are under represented in the travel industry
• partnering with organizations and brands that represent marginalized communities to offer partner discounts
• telling more stories and featuring more marginalized voices on our tours, and in our marketing
• displaying more diversity in our images

Please note that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our business is running with bare minimum staff and resources. As such, we will be slow to implement some of the above actions, particularly those focussed on staff recruitment and training, since most positions will not be recalled or filled until closer to when we start operating tours again in Spring 2022.

Posted 10 November, 2020

Here’s what we’ve accomplished thus far on some of our Action Plan points:

Proactively searching out, and contracting or frequenting businesses owned or managed by people from marginalized groups on our tours

• we have added an included guided tour of the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre on all tours that visit Whistler
• our included dinner on tours travelling from Vancouver to Kelowna will feature Indigenous cuisine provided by the Kekuli Cafe in Westbank
• all tours that travel from Banff to Vancouver will now include a guided tour of the Tuckkwiowhum Village First Nations Heritage Site in the Fraser Canyon

Telling more stories and featuring more marginalized voices on our tours, and in our marketing. A few examples of content that will be added:

• our new walking tour of Victoria will include stories about the Black Pioneers that immigrated to BC from San Francisco in 1858
• we’ll talk about the vibrant LGBTQ communities and events in Moose destinations such as Victoria, Kelowna and of course Vancouver
• we’ll share the history of Hogan’s Alley and Vancouver’s first Black community as we pass through Strathcona when departing Vancouver for Kelowna
• we’ll acknowledge the important contribution of, and discrimination and hardships faced by, Chinese railway workers in building the trans-continental railroad that joined our country from coast to coast

Displaying more diversity in our images

• we have added a few more images featuring more diverse faces on our tour pages