An American travel influencer has been slammed for promoting a ‘tour of the slums’ during her visit to India.
Tara Katims, 24, who is from the US but recently moved to Mexico, posted a video advising her followers how to best spend 72 hours in Mumbai.
The full-time solo traveller documented her activities on her TikTok account @tarkatims, which included a Pilates class, going clubbing and a cooking class, as well as a ‘tour of the Dharavi slums’.
Tara said she is ‘so glad’ she went on the tour, despite being ‘so nervous’ – but she has been blasted online for turning other people’s ‘poverty’ into her own ‘tourism’.
Recommending the two-hour tour to her fans in a video, Tara said: ‘I’m not going to lie I was so nervous going into this experience, but I’m so glad I did. If you’re the kind of person that likes to stay in touristy spots when they travel, this probably isn’t for you.
‘I saw this listing on Airbnb for a tour that’s given by a man who actually used to live in the slums himself.
‘His motivation around starting these tours was to help break the stigma that comes with growing up in the slums. People can be denied jobs after growing up in the slums and so much more.
‘The tour takes you through the different industries in the slums and you get to see daily life there and the NGOs and organisations that are going in there to try to help it.
‘You can easily come to India and only see the beautiful parts, but the reality is, this is how most people in Mumbai live.’
But despite saying she would ’10/10 recommend’ the tour, Tara was slammed online by those who were left shocked that she was promoting the tour to her 15,000 followers.
One social media user wrote: ‘“Slum tour” girl bye people live here – poverty is not tourism it’s not for u to be entertained – instead of posting a “slum tour” maybe promote a charity which helps them.’
A second added: ‘Absolutely not how “most” of the people in Mumbai live. This is a large slum but just one small area of Mumbai. At least try to be accurate.’
A third said: ‘I understand the intention behind this video but calling it a slums tour gives the whole idea a really poor taste,’ while another commented: ‘Using the world SLUMS tour is NOT going to help break the stigma.’
However, some people were quick to rush to Tara’s defence, as one said: ‘How is she being insensitive the listing literally says “Dharavi Slums Tour” she didn’t make up the name.’
The ‘Dharavi Slums Tour’ is advertised on Airbnb as a two-hour experience hosted by Jitrenda, who grew up in Mumbai.
It costs £6 per person and has an average rating of 4.98 stars from 300 reviews – aiming to ‘dispel the negative image of the slum and plan to put part of the profits from tour for social activities‘, according to the listing on Airbnb.
The Dharavi residential area is considered one of the biggest ‘slums’ in the world, with a population of around one million, and was used as the backdrop in the Oscar-winning British film, Slumdog Millionaire.
Search results for such tours bring up hundreds of results, including listings on the likes of TripAdvisor and Airbnb.
In 2019, The Telegraph reported that tours of the area had become India’s ‘most popular’ tourist attraction, despite controversy over the ethics of taking part.
‘Slums’ are areas of densely packed housing and are often associated with poverty.
However, many no longer use the word ‘slum’ due to its derogatory associations and negative connotations.
Some say the use of the word slum is an attempt to de-legitimise land when trying to re-purpose it.
The UN defines slums as: ‘Individuals living under the same roof and lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability and security of tenure.’
Tara has travelled round the world, posting videos of her trips to the likes of Mexico City, Nepal, India and Egypt.
She previously revealed she would never visit Egypt alone as a female traveller due to being harassed in Cairo.
