The entrepreneur, activist and cultural producer was recently recognised as a leading LGBTQIA+ trailblazer for 2023.
LONDON — Leading youth social travel brand Contiki is pleased to announce entrepreneur, activist and producer Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir as their LGBTQIA+ Ambassador for 2023.
Aisha’s ongoing aim is to break down barriers and achieve visibility, equality and equity (the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day) for all within the community.
Aisha has joined on a 12-month contract and will serve as Contiki’s voice of the LGBTQIA+ community, both internally and externally.
She said, “I am excited to embark on this journey with Contiki where we can collaborate to further amplify diverse and marginalized voices from our community. Working together also means we contribute towards the changing face of travel. Travel needs to be more inclusive, intersectional, accessible and to take into account the needs of all women, queer people of colour as well as our non-binary and trans community.”
“We’re delighted to be working with Aisha,” says Rachel Storey, Brand & Partnerships Director at Contiki. “We’ll listen closely to what Aisha has to say, and she’ll contribute massively to how we communicate and engage with our LGBTQIA+ audience and allies. We hope this partnership helps us with our ongoing mission to tailor our products to a diverse range of audiences.
“We’re excited to consult with Aisha on a wide range of areas – from the types of content we produce, right through to our products and making our trips as inclusive and accessible as possible. She’ll also do a bit of travelling with us so she can really get a feel for the Contiki experience, as well as what we stand for as a brand.
“Whilst we understand that no one individual can serve as a completely accurate representation for an entire community of people, we do hope that by listening closely to Aisha, the marketing materials that we produce (as well as our selection of trips) will come to better represent the interests of everyone within the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Aisha is renowned for her work on various projects. She runs an LGBTQIA+ travel group called Moonlight Experiences, which spotlights and celebrates the community’s nightlife and culture on tours of Great Britain; she’s Head of Community Engagement for UK Black Pride, whose event last year was the largest of its kind in the world with over 25,000 attendees; she’s also a trustee for GiveOut – an international LGBTQIA+ Foundation that supports the battle for LGBTQIA+ rights across the world.
Attitude Magazine recently recognised her as one of their top 10 LGBTQIA+ Trailblazers for 2023, and she was also announced on the list for the British LGBT Award for Top 10 Outstanding Contributors to LGBT+ Life.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
