Pack Light Global is reimagining what travel can look like for midlife Black women by creating small-group cultural journeys designed for ease, connection, and belonging. Founded in 2019 by storyteller and cultural strategist Dawn Booker, the company was built in response to a simple reality: Black women, especially over 40, are often overlooked in mainstream and luxury travel.
Pack Light Global curates immersive journeys across Africa, Asia, and Europe that center cultural connection, emotional ease, and shared experience. With intimate groups and high-touch planning, each trip is designed to feel spacious, supportive, and deeply affirming. Travelers move through the world without the need to explain themselves, adjust their identities, or navigate unfamiliar social dynamics.
The Pack Light Global Origin Story
The story of Pack Light Global begins with Dawn Booker’s own experience as a traveler.
With a career spanning more than 25 years in global communications, storytelling, and cultural strategy, Dawn has long worked at the intersection of media, identity, and audience connection. She has lived and worked internationally, earning a master’s degree in Global Communication from American University of Paris and contributing to platforms that shape how travel stories are told.
As a midlife Black woman traveling the world, she recognized a gap. The industry offered few experiences that reflected her identity, her pace, or the emotional realities of moving through spaces not designed with her in mind.
So she built what was missing.
Pack Light Global was created to offer not just access to destinations, but a different kind of experience, one rooted in cultural understanding, emotional safety, and shared community. Drawing on her work as former Editor-in-Chief of DETOUR: Best Stories in Black Travel and her contributions to Journeywoman Magazine, Dawn brought together storytelling, travel design, and cultural insight to shape a new model.
Today, she leads each journey with intention, creating spaces where travelers can connect, reflect, and move through the world on their own terms.
How Pack Light Global Is Making A Positive Impact
Pack Light Global is expanding who travel is designed for by centering a community that has long been underserved.
Midlife Black women represent a significant and growing travel market, yet remain largely invisible in mainstream travel offerings. Pack Light addresses this directly by designing experiences that reflect their interests, identities, and needs.
Each journey is intentionally small, typically no more than 15 travelers, creating space for meaningful connection while reducing environmental impact and avoiding over-touristed experiences. Travelers often describe the experience as restorative, a rare opportunity to feel at ease while exploring new places.
The company also prioritizes where and how money flows. Pack Light partners with Black-owned and women-led businesses across its destinations, including boutique hotels, chefs, cultural guides, and artisans. This approach helps ensure that tourism revenue supports local communities and strengthens inclusive tourism ecosystems.
In 2025, the company expanded its model with the launch of Pack Light Plus, inviting spouses and partners to participate while maintaining the brand’s core values of intimacy, cultural care, and belonging.
Why the UnTours Foundation Invested in Pack Light Global
We invested in Pack Light Global because it represents a powerful example of inclusion in practice within the travel industry.
This investment was made possible with the support of our funding partner Expedia Group, whose commitment to expanding access to travel aligns with Pack Light’s mission to serve communities that have historically been overlooked.
Across the industry, many travelers still struggle to find experiences that reflect their identity, values, and sense of belonging. Pack Light Global addresses this gap by creating journeys that center cultural understanding, emotional ease, and shared experience.
The company also demonstrates a strong and thoughtful business model. By combining high-touch service, intentional group design, and aligned partnerships in destination, Pack Light has built a brand that resonates deeply with its audience while supporting local businesses.
How You Can Support Pack Light Global
Travelers can support Pack Light Global by booking a journey and experiencing travel designed with care, connection, and cultural understanding at its core. You can also recommend Pack Light to others, partner on curated group experiences, or help amplify its mission to make travel more inclusive and affirming.
