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Writer's pictureAgustin @ Luxotic Retreats

Meet Ashley McDonough in Dubai: The Pioneer of Travel App for People of Color (Melanin On The Map)

Growing up as a first-generation American with parents of Caribbean descent, Ashley always had the wonder to explore the deep side of the world.

The constant travels to her parents' home countries of Dominica and Jamaica pique her sense of adventure in learning new culture especially in exotic destinations. Her thirst for discovering the exotic and unique side of the world had brought her over 10 countries even before her 25 year-old birthday!


Her concern to minority travel

Melanin On The Map, the app that helps people of color to connect minority travel lovers to one another, comes from Ashley's concern about the lack of minority people during her monthly excursions. She wants to create an app where people of color can engage and connect with one another while they’re traveling in the same place or country!


Her concern successfully grows over 40,000 travel lovers across the globe and brings her to where she is right now as the pioneer of minority travel entrepreneur.



Successful career before going into entrepreneurship

Graduating from Howard University to pursue her career in Journalism had brought her into a successful career as Journalist/Producer in many big media companies. Ashley had worked in her dream media brands like ESSENCE Magazine, Xo Necole, Ebony Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, and Billboard, but still, those brands didn’t fulfill her hunger to discover the world.


The successful professional career as a Journalist/Producer always brings her back to those memories of traveling, connecting with the locals, learning new culture, and visiting exciting places during her college years. The memories are so vivid that she decided to put her pen down and pursue her calling as a full-time entrepreneur.



The birth of Melanin On The Map

During her fun college years, she took a year of study abroad to Spain. Studying Spanish and Sociology, her journey as an exchange student broadened her connection with other travel lovers that later led her to explore Italy, Morocco, and London.


Those 12 months opened her perspective to how very little people of color traveling together and it grew into a mission to connect them through something. That idea stayed continuously on her mind and finally when she resigned from her job, in July 2019 she launched Melanin On The Map as the FIRST app dedicated to minority travelers. Besides connecting and engaging, Ashley believes she has a bigger picture that is to help travel lovers turning their travel into a paycheck! This is the reason why her app is continuously growing overtime as a learning platform for minority travel lovers around the world.


If you’re interested to meet and learn about Ashley tips and tricks of success, you should join Dubai Travel Entrepreneur Retreat this April! Book with Ashley to leverage your travel business or even making big paychecks through travel.


This is the place where you, travel lovers, can turn your love for travel into your own business and not only learn from Ashley, but you will learn from other successful travel entrepreneurs.


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