Founded in Rio de Janeiro, Diaspora.Black “was born to promote stories, memories, gastronomy, musicality. Everything related to this wealth that was produced by African peoples who spread throughout the world”explains the CEO. “Today we are in 18 countries using a platform that connects people to travel packages, walks, experiences that are advertised on this platform and that give people the opportunity to experience these many tourist experiences that present these places, these memories, these gastronomies”, he adds.
In Portugal, the plan is to serve as it already does in other countries, as a platform for tour operators to sell their products, but also to encourage the creation of experiences that highlight African ancestral culture and value those that already exist.
Regarding the resistance he may encounter along the way, the issues that Portugal still needs to resolve when it comes to recognizing its role in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved people, the Brazilian is categorical. “Younger people are looking for more meaning, they are more connected and they don’t want to be ashamed of their own history, they want to know our stories. And then we don’t need to be ashamed, to be afraid of what happened in the past. On the contrary, we need to look at the past to learn, to change the future. So this tourism, afrotourism, brings this possibility.”
Afrotourism, or also called heritage tourism, is a current international trend. “This movement is growing in Latin America, in North America, in Europe in other countries, we have this movement growing a lot in France, in England. And here where there are so many assets, It is an economic waste not to look at these memories and heritage. So, we also work on this perspective of how much this can generate revenue for Portugal. Understanding that these stories are also great tourist and economic assets that can even diversify tourism products in the country”.
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