In the 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations, the aspirations for Responsible Tourism included “more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues.” The Cape Town Declaration developed at an official side event to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, called for tourism that “is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.” These aspirations have stood the test of time and were reasserted two decades later in the 2022 Responsible Tourism Charter.
This week, I was invited to the launch of a new walking tour in Westminster, in Central London, one of Unseen London’s eye-opening and enjoyable series led by people with experience of homelessness.
I have enjoyed several of their experiences, all of which have exceeded their claim: “Our brilliant guides, being formerly homeless, know the streets intimately and will show you the real London through their stories and unmatched knowledge of the area’s history.” I have been a frequent visitor to central London and I worked there for a decade; each one of the Unseen tours I have experienced opened my eyes to places that I had walked past but not seen. If you are in London, be sure to book one of their tours.
On Anne’s Westminster Tour, I was reminded of Mary Seacole, long forgotten despite her magnificent contributions as a nurse in the Crimea War, but she was finally recognised in 2016 with a statue standing in the gardens of St Thomas’ Hospital, facing the Palace of Westminster.
In Parliament Square, we were face-to-face with Millicent Fawcett, a leading suffragist. “Parliament Square’s first monument to a woman and also its first sculpture by a woman, was funded through the government’s Centenary Fund, which marks 100 years since some women won the right to vote.”
You can find more details of Anne’s Westminster Tour and a little about Anne, who suddenly made homeless in London in 2018. As she writes on the website, “This experience profoundly shaped my perspective on the city and the struggles many face beneath its surface.”
Unseen London currently has six tours available to book on their website, they provide great experiences for tourists and Londoners. But Unseen London offers more than that. Unseen Tours is a registered not-for-profit social enterprise playing its part in creating a fairer society. Their social impact is focused on providing support and meaningful opportunities for individuals who have experienced homelessness, alongside other forms of discrimination and marginalisation.
The best guides are educators, and teachers, respected because they educate us, their students. The guide/teacher – tourists/students wanting to learn about what they see engenders respect. Respect and mutual understanding build confidence in those who have experienced homelessness. Unseen Tours has a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor and they have hosted 25,000 guests.
Unseen Tours has a remarkable social impact, sharing knowledge about homelessness and helping people to understand that the homeless are not other – they are you and me without a home. They are us.
Perhaps more importantly, they provide a route out of homelessness, restoring and building confidence and self-respect. The Unseen London guides move on – there have been 24.
Unseen Tours works to achieve better opportunities for people who have experienced homelessness at Unseen Tours. They provide access to training and meaningful employment opportunities for people who have experienced homelessness and seek to improve their “resilience, mental well-being, self-esteem, and confidence.” They empower guides to tell their own story.
If you are visiting London, include an Unseen Tour, or two, in your itinerary. If you live in or near London, book a tour. You’ll learn about Unseen London and how homelessness can be overcome. Unseen Tours’ guides are a joy to meet.
You will make a meaningful connection and have memorable experiences.
Jayni Gudka, at Unseen Tours, has developed their training and empowerment programme and has founded Sama Sama International to “create synergies between people who have experienced marginalisation*, and the tourism, events and heritage industries.”
They “believe that the tourism, heritage and events industries have a lot to gain by including people marginalised communities. To help achieve this, our bespoke training and coaching programmes support people and communities wanting to set up tour guiding, community-led tourism and storytelling ventures that put community benefit at the centre of everything that’s developed.“
If you’d like to support Unseen Tours in making this happen, they greatly appreciate donations.
