One 26-year-old travel content creator from Nigeria recently took to the seas to break one such record. She was trying to set a new record for the fastest time visiting all seven continents! Sadly, her journey came to an end in late March. It captured her pioneering spirit at the same time it underscored the uphill travel battle many travelers with passports of less privilege must fight.
It was on this exchange that Asinobi first received her passport and made her first international trip to Benin, early 2020. This experience ignited her interest in traveling around the world. It inspired her to explore everything the world had to offer. Though Asinobi’s ambitious mission to be the fastest person to visit all continents in history had multiple hurdles, it ultimately resulted in an unsuccessful attempt.
Asinobi is trying to break the current record of 64 hours set by another American traveler. To do this, she has extensively walked in about 35 countries, including many of upon her most recent record-breaking attempt. Even with her careful preparations, she was met with unforeseen obstacles that proved to be game changers on her trip. Additional airport security screenings and visa issues were the most significant factors in preventing her from succeeding.
Perhaps the most disappointing blow came when Asinobi was unable to make her flight to Perth, Australia. Visa problems kept her from making the trip. At her gate, she was told that the local authorities needed to reconfirm her visa. This clamp down ended up forcing her flight to be rerouted to Spain, making her miss an absolutely essential connecting flight.
In light of these challenges, Asinobi rerouted her trip and flew to Egypt instead. Even with these obstacles, she beat all odds and finished her 296-mile trip in just 71 hours and 26 minutes. This time wasn’t enough for the world record she set out to achieve.
Asinobi’s experience is a case study in what is known as “passport privilege.” This term aptly describes the privileges that some passport holders experience while traveling abroad. The Nigerian passport ranks 92nd on the Henley Passport Index, which measures the access its holders have to various destinations without a visa. This new ranking is a testament to the barriers so many encounter every day just attempting to cross an international border.
In shedding light on her experience and the obstacles she navigated, Asinobi highlighted the role of passport privilege in a much wider context.
“This is something that more than half of the world population actually experience,” – Alma Asinobi
She emphasized how the average traveler doesn’t have the level of access that people from more privileged countries do.
“They don’t have passport privilege. But we don’t talk about this enough. I just thought … what better way to talk about it than to show the world how tough it is to travel with a passport like mine?” – Alma Asinobi
Asinobi’s story is an inspiring story of overcoming adversity, and she is eager to prove that once again. Her story should be a wakeup call, that travel is much more than getting to the next glamorous location. It means breaking through real and serious barriers that threaten to obstruct our path.
The travel influencer’s mission is a great reminder of why we need to recognize these disparities in the global travel ecosystem. Travel can seem like a glamorous, beautiful world on social media, always highlighting the best places to visit. In comparison, Asinobi’s work shines a light on the struggles most travelers-to-be face but are rarely recognized.
