American influencer slammed for Dharavi slum tour: ‘so disrespectful’

An American travel content creator has come under fire for taking part in a Dharavi slum tour, never mind the fact that such tours are frequently organised and hosted by Indians. TikToker Tara Katims travelled to India last year and documented her experience in a video that has now resurfaced on social media.

Katims visited several places in India, including the Taj Mahal in Agra and the backwaters of Kerala. However, one part of her itinerary raised eyebrows on social media – she went on a tour of the Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Commonly described as one of the world’s largest slums, Dharavi is home to an estimated 1 million people.
In one of her TikTok videos from December, Katims spoke about visiting the slum. “If you’re the kind of person that likes to stay in touristy spots when they travel, this probably isn’t for you,” she began the clip, according to News.com.au. “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 behind 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,” Katims explained.

However, the American travel influencer was criticised as tone-deaf for “promoting poverty”. On X, where a snippet of her video was shared, she received much backlash from Indians.

Several people called it disrespectful to organise tours to a place where people live. Others slammed Katims for glamourizing poverty.