Indigenous pair feel ripped off by travel firms using Māori culture

Two First Nations visitors spent thousands of dollars on an indigenous youth programme they say failed to deliver on what they hoped would be a cultural experience of a lifetime.

Ashley Clearsky and Sage Maresty allege GO International and JENZA Travel, which managed the New Zealand end of the programme, are targeting young indigenous Canadians by using Māori culture.

Both Clearsky and Maresty first became aware of GO International’s Indigenous Youth Group programme through social media.

“I seen an advertisement on Facebook, and it was like a big heading, it said: Are you indigenous? Are you between the ages of 19 and 35? Do you want to travel to New Zealand? Do you want to experience the Māori culture? And that's what really attracted me,” Clearsky said.

Maresty said he was alerted to the ad by a friend. He had visited New Zealand twice before and wanted to start afresh.

“Back home, I was kind of just working the same job, so I just wanted to experience something new, a new chapter in life.

“The opportunity to actually live and work here was something that really intrigued me,” he said.

On its website, GO International says it offers a 12-week programme that fosters “cross-cultural understanding and empowering indigenous youth from Canada to explore the breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand while gaining valuable work experience”.

It said participants would have the opportunity to engage with Māori, build lasting connections with local communities, and doing paid work.

The programme was jointly hosted and managed by JENZA Travel, “a working holiday company in New Zealand that has strong connections with employers and the Māori communities” in Aotearoa.

It cost CAD$4000 ($4875) per person, not including return flights, insurance or visa fees. Accommodation for participants was provided during orientation and on tours, but during work weeks, not-paid-for accommodation was organised.

According to JENZA Travel’s social responsibility impact report, the programme was an “immersive pilot scheme for First Nations young people to travel and work for Māori-owned businesses in New Zealand”. They expected more than 40 participants between February and April.

Alarm bells first started ringing for Clearsky and Maresty at a pre-departure meeting held over a Zoom call. They met their point of contact from JENZA Travel who was not indigenous, said Clearsky.

"As soon as we came to Aotearoa, we weren't given the proper welcoming ceremony or protocols that should have been in place.

"I should’ve seen that, maybe, something was up with that because how could they, when they're not indigenous? No one on the programme was indigenous, like the leaders or the people that were managing us."

Clearsky said the trip was fine for the initial two weeks, but delays to their work placement meant there were last minute changes to accommodation and major changes to the itinerary.

She said they were told not to worry and that, something was being sorted out. In the meantime, their cover letters and resumes were sent that day.

“And I was just thinking, well, that's so last minute, what do you mean you just sent off our resumes and cover letters today? This programme was supposed to be a year in the making, how come there was no Plan B? How come we're in an Airbnb, randomly, like nowhere to stay?”

The itinerary on the GO International website said, from week three, participants could expect to work for four weeks and earn a minimum of $750 per week.

Instead, Clearsky said they were taken to a lodge, an organic farm volunteering facility which they say wasn't part of the itinerary. "We were promised jobs," she said.

At this point, Clearsky said they left the programme to stay with family who were in the country. Maresty said it was a safety net they recognised others did not have.

"I'm lucky to have whānau in Rotorua so I was able to also run away in the sense of, like, leave the lodge, and my whānau was able to come and help me, protect me and keep me safe."

He said, for many on the programme, it was their first time travelling, "their first time leaving anything, and this was a three-month programme".

"So, to not have that support... and not have any confirmations of times A, B, C, D, and just being left unread when you're messaging them, asking them what's the next step and there's no reply – it's kind of disheartening and really frustrating."

In a joint statement, GO International and JENZA said they recognised providing a programme for indigenous community members required "representation, cultural sensitivity and potentially additional support".

"Since the group's arrival in New Zealand, our team has been actively engaged with participants and Māori community members to support them through their experience and collect ongoing feedback on how to improve the programme.

"This is the first year that we are running the pilot programme and we experienced an unforeseen delay in the start date for work placements in the kiwifruit industry due to seasonal changes.

"All other planned cultural activities were delivered or will be delivered later in the programme, with additional activities and accommodations provided for participants to gain further insight into the rich history and culture of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

"Alternate work arrangements were made for participants and we continue to offer group members alternate employment and experiences upon request."

Clearsky and Maresty returned to the programme once the job placement was confirmed and they started working at a kiwifruit packing house but issues continued where they found mice and cockroaches at their accommodation, said Clearsky.

They were then told a significant part of the itinerary would not be going ahead.

"I had asked [JENZA] if we would be continuing on with any of the promised itinerary that was set in our e-book that was given to us from the beginning. We were supposed to go to Rotorua, we were supposed to do a youth forum with other Māori communities."

The website itinerary outlined a trip to Rotorua on week seven would include a Māori cultural experience where participants would "experience the warmth of Māori hospitality" at a marae stay and visit to Whakarewarewa Village.

On week 12, the itinerary read that participants would be given the opportunity to engage with local Māori youth as part of a forum, as well as visit local kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa.

But Clearsky said they were told they were just going to work and stay put until the end of the programme.

At this point, the pair dropped out of the programme for a second time.

Go International and JENZA said they acknowledged the discrepancies between the expected and delivered aspects of the working holiday component and the cultural immersion experience.

"We are working closely with the participants to address their concerns and meet their needs, including offering new placements, different accommodations and individual refunds where appropriate," they said.

"We understand the significance of the issues raised and have also taken immediate steps to restructure the programme to ensure it respects and reflects the values and needs of all participants, including meaningful engagement with the Māori community and appropriate work placements."

Rita Peihopa (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Rēhia) worked within the intercultural exchange space and was now hosting Clearsky and Maresty.

She said: “I tino mamae-ā-roto te rongo ki ngā tūkinotanga, otirā, te koretake pea o ngā whakaritenga. I te korenga o ā tātou tikanga, korekau he pōhiri, korekau whakawhanaungatanga, korekau manaakitanga mai i ēnei o ngā kaiwhakariterite i ngā hōtaka nei o GO International (I was devastated when I heard of the mistreatment, as well as the lack of proper organisation. None of our customs were adhered to, there was no welcome, no cross-cultural exchange, no proper care and hospitality from the programme managers of GO International).”

In her professional capacity, Peihopa had travelled to Canada and engaged with First Nations people there. She believed any visitor to the country should be welcomed accordingly.

“He tikanga tā mātou te iwi Māori mō ngā manuhiri e taetae mai ana ki konei; ko te pōhiri, ko ngā tikanga, ko te manaakitanga, ko te manaaki tangata te mea nui. Nō reira, e tika ana, mā te Māori tēnei mahi, otirā, mā ngā iwi ēnei mahi i roto i ngā tini rohe o Aotearoa. Kaua mā te Pākehā (There are customs Māori follow for visitors that come here. We welcome them, and our tikanga around hosting and caring for our visitors is the most important thing. So, it’s only right that Māori take the lead, that iwi across Aotearoa do this work, not Pākehā).”

GO International and JENZA Travel said they worked closely with “Indigenous communities across Canada and the Māori community in New Zealand” from the start of the programme.

“On the Canadian side, we have an Indigenous Advisory Council that guides our policies and practices and all our team leaders are Indigenous.

“On the New Zealand side, we work with Māori community members to create cultural programming and deliver the programme experience. We have also employed a Māori programme assistant for our group activities and to provide greater engagement, representation and cultural sensitivity on the ground.”

The pair have since continued to explore the country on their own and with the help of their networks.

"The people that we've met, the families, the friends, everybody along the way have been so helpful and accommodating," Maresty said.

"Every time I've told a Māori person what has happened, they have been so devastated, so heartbroken about it because they understand — they know culture's a huge thing."

"We're making the best of our trip,” said Clearsky. “We've made some really amazing friends, and they've helped us a great deal, so what we're going to do from here is we're going to travel a bit more, see the Coromandel, and also we have plans to go to a local marae and just make that connections ourselves.

"We're determined to make the most of our trip without them."