Aziz Abu Sarah

Nearly a billion people traveled internationally in 2022. My dream is to convince such travelers to explore rather than tour. I do that by modeling a different kind of travel—one that has had a lasting impact in the field of tourism development and on Indigenous communities in the developing world.

In 2009, I cofounded Mejdi Tours, which has pioneered the concept of dual-narrative tourism. In conflict and post-conflict zones, the company has two guides from different backgrounds lead tours together. In Northern Ireland, a Catholic and a Protestant colead trips; in Israel–Palestine, a Palestinian and Israeli colead the tour; and in the Balkans, a Serbian and Bosnian guide together. In Vietnam, my travelers meet a Vietnamese pilot who shot down an American plane, was later shot down himself, then became friends with the American pilot who downed his plane. In Colombia, travelers meet Afro-Caribbean musicians; in Northern Ireland, travelers speak with ex-militants and clergy who worked to end the decades-long conflict known as Na Trioblóidí (“The Troubles”).