At Expedia Group, we believe travel is a force for good. We are committed to ensuring access for all travelers because it serves as a gateway to the world, allowing us to connect with others, share our experiences, and broaden our horizons. Travel should be enabled, encouraged and championed, but we know everyone does not have the same access to experience these opportunities.  
 
As part of our commitment to fostering a more inclusive travel community, we’ve launched Journeys for All: An Expedia Group Study on Inclusion in Travel. This first-of-its-kind report provides the industry with essential data and key recommendations to better serve underrepresented travelers. 

For us, it’s important that everyone can access and feel safe and empowered while traveling. We wanted to explore what those different experiences look like based on individual identities.

Aditi Mohapatra – VP, Global Social Impact & Sustainability

These underserved travelers are individuals or groups who face significant barriers to accessing products or services due to a variety of factors including race, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, disability, economic status, and geographic location. These barriers often intersect and can result from systemic inequalities, discriminatory practices, economic constraints, and insufficient or inadequately designed infrastructure.  

Although underserved travelers are already exploring the world, the travel industry must recognize the immense potential in enabling more inclusive travel experiences. By addressing the barriers that hinder many from fully participating in travel, the industry can unlock a wealth of opportunities — not only in enhancing their journeys but also in expanding the traveler base.  

This original research seeks to identify shared travel challenges of underserved groups, including Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and travelers with disabilities. By examining the planning and experience of their journeys, we’ve identified persistent pain points that need immediate attention and action. We’ve also included recommendations for how to address those pain points, based directly on these firsthand insights. What we learn in this study invites us as an industry to create more inclusive travel experiences together. 

This study demonstrates what we’ve long known to be true: embedding inclusive practices across our products and services does more than enhance brand appeal and loyalty. It creates significant growth opportunities by meeting the needs of more travelers.

Greg Schulze – Chief Commercial Officer and President, Travel Partnerships and Media

The principles outlined in this report are a starting point to provide data-informed guidance for the industry to work together in providing a universally welcoming travel experience. To create meaningful and sustainable change that improves experiences for all travelers requires a collective effort from all corners of the travel industry.  This intersectional study, with firsthand insights and actionable recommendations, invites the industry as a whole to address these barriers so more people can experience more joy in travel. 

Learn more about Inclusive Travel by downloading the report: Journeys for All: An Expedia Group Inclusion In Travel Study

Join us and help build a more open world for all travelers.