Travel guru, Evita Robinson, is on a mission. Travel the globe, see the world and bring more visibility to people of color who have a passion for traveling, especially internationally. Since discovering her own passion for globetrotting, what started out as a solo adventure to see new places as documented in mini-episodes on her site Nomad•ness TV.com, quickly caught the attention of other travelers who also had a love for seeing the world. Today, she manages a tribe of more than 6,000 members who travel together to some of the most amazing places around the world.
After living abroad and returning early from what should have been a 3-month stint in Thailand in 2011, she was looking for a travel community that offered more than the top places to go to. “I wanted to have a real connection with people and I also found that none of the [existing] travel groups were diverse. None of these people look, sound, act like me or have any remote similarities in backgrounds. I really wanted to find something that I felt comfortable with. It was really about comfort and connection that I was looking for and when I didn’t find that, I ended up creating it,” says Robinson.
Nomad•ness Travel Tribe is a member-only group (only one passport stamp is required to be eligible) of young, savvy travelers living around the world who have a passion for traveling. The tribe is 80% female and 85% Black and Latino who collectively have more than 6,000 passport stamps. There are currently about 900 people chopping at the bit to get in the tribe.
Robinson and her team are in charge of coordinating the land portion of the trips that have included Spain, India, Panama, Canada, Japan and the Dominican Republic just to name a few. In 2013 alone, Robinson offered eight trips with one being a month-long RV tour. This year is about quality more than ever before with each trip ranging from 15 – 20 members at a time.
To get in on a trip, once the announcement is made (which is usually a surprise), members can then buy-in to that trip which usually ranges from $375 – $400 and covers lodging only thanks to Robinson’s work in getting the trips sponsored and subsidized. Members are charged with taking care of their airfare and any exclusions that are included in the itinerary.
When asked why there is this assumption that people of color don’t travel, Robinson says at first (years ago) she would say “Because we don’t,” but soon realized that just because she didn’t cross paths with people of color on her journeys, didn’t mean we didn’t travel. “I realized that it is simply not true. We’re just not broadcasted in this light and that is what I am trying to change.” With a TV show concept already created and the goal of getting her first book published, Robinson is well on her way to changing these unjust perceptions. In addition, she currently speaks around the country about her adventures and encourages others to grab their passport and get going. Especially college students.
You can also read about her travels as a contributor for Amtrak’s new site, www.myblackjourney.com. Be sure to follow Evita Robinson’s adventures with the tribe on Twitter and her website www.nomadnesstv.com.
