Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir Named 2023 LGBTQIA+ Ambassador for Contiki

Leading youth social travel brand Contiki is pleased to announce entrepreneur, activist, and producer Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir as their LGBTQIA+ Ambassador for 2023. 

Shaibu-Lenoir’s ongoing aim is to break down barriers and achieve visibility, equality, and equity within the community. You may recall that Shaibu-Lenoir and her wife, Lexie – @thequeernomads on Instagram – were featured in Celebrity Cruises’ All-Inclusive Photo Project, a diversity-focused open-source image library. 

In a 12-month contract with Contiki (a New Zealand-based tour company), Shaibu-Lenoir will serve as Contiki’s voice for the LGBTQIA+ community, both internally and externally. 

“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,” she said. “Travel needs to be more inclusive, intersectional, accessible and to take into account the needs of all women, queer people of color as well as our non-binary and trans community.”

Rachel Storey, Brand & Partnerships Director at Contiki, said, “We’re delighted to be working with Aisha. 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.”

Storey said that they will consult Shaibu-Lenoir on a wide range of areas – from the types of content Contiki produces, which includes the company’s products as well as how to make their trips as inclusive and accessible as possible. The new brand ambassador will also travel to get a feel for the Contiki experience and mission.

“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,” said Storey. 

Shaibu-Lenoir 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 the 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 recognized 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.

Click here if you want to know more about Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir.