Oneika the Traveller: An influencer broaches complex issues
Influencers are seen as having a lot of clout in the travel industry these days. Their ranks include Oneika Raymond, known as Oneika the Traveller, who’s been to more than 100 countries. She blogs and Instagrams about travel and hosts two Travel Channel shows on Facebook: “Big City, Little Budget” and “One Bag and You’re Out.”
But Raymond also broaches complex issues that aren’t always covered by mainstream travel media, including what it’s like to travel as a black woman and how, as an influencer, she tries to balance transparency while promoting the destination she’s hired to represent. Raymond shared tips and thoughts in the latest episode of AP Travel’s weekly “Get Outta Here!” podcast . Here are some excerpts, edited for brevity and clarity.
TRAVELING AS A BLACK WOMAN
Raymond hashtags some of her posts #blackgirlmagic. She also acknowledges that black travelers may face some unique challenges.
“If I travel to places where they don’t have a large black population, I get a lot of stares,” she said. “I get people trying to touch my hair and touch my skin and take pictures in a way that many white travelers may not have experienced. In TV, in film, people all over the world are bombarded with images of white people. But that’s not necessarily so when it comes to someone who looks like me. So I get a lot of attention in places like China or India, where local people have not had as much contact with black people.”
How does she respond to that attention?
“I am so used to it that I actually enjoy engaging with peo-
ple,” she said. “We travel because we want to discover. That is what fuels me every time I go on the road. When I encounter these situations where people are very interested or attracted to me because of the way I look, or because of the differences in the way I look, I am really happy to have that dialogue and to engage with them . ... We are both learning. I am learning about their culture and they’re