We train people affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city and offer these alternative tours to tourists and locals.
Our high quality training empowers our guides to create, craft and deliver tours that are their own, highlighting monuments, people and places they have chosen themselves.
In the past, we have worked with The Big Issue Invest, one of our funders, to develop an Impact report, measuring our social value.
The impact we deliver is achieved both in the direct employment of guides and through the wider training and advocacy work delivered by the team. You can read the full report here:
Invisible Cities Case Study 2020 Updated
In 2023- and after periods of lock-downs we were able to have a full year of tours and activities! Want to know more?
You can read our 2023 Impact Report here!
Want to know about our impact for 2024? Our brand new Impact report is finally here.
We recruit and train people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides. Some end up offering you unique, off the beaten track tours of their cities while others stay involved in the organisation and either work on other projects or get referred on to other organisations. We support everyone on a one-to-one basis to achieve their goals. We use part of our profit to support them through personal projects. This may be accessing further education or reuniting with family and friends for example.
Invisible Cities raises awareness about homelessness and through our tours, we aim at changing perceptions and breaking down the stigma that exists around it. We also do this through innovative events, aimed at a wider or different audience.
Part of our mission is also to create a more positive and inclusive community. We start local projects that engage the wider community and then let them grow to reach more and more people. We want to roll out all our events and ideas in as many places as possible so work in partnership with other organisations so they can take owenerhip of them. These events have included our Street Barber pop-ups, The Writing on the Wall Publication in Manchester- a monthly letter distributed to people across the city and distribution of care packages or fresh flowers to women in our cities.
In 2018, we started replicating Invisible Cities in other cities, with Manchester, in October 2018 and Glasgow in November 2018. In June 2019, we launched tours in York.
In each city, we partner with another organisation and develop a team to make it a success. Are you interesting in having Invisible Tours in your own City contact Zakia here!
In all our cities, we are proud to offer FREE walking tours to members of our communities. We all love and and take pride in our cities and want others to feel just the same. That is why we have started offering free walking tours to members of other charities, community groups and organisations. This has included Ukrainian refugees in Edinburgh, locals to Govan in Glasgow and various community groups in Manchester.
These free community Tours are made possible thanks to our sponsors and friends around the country.
In Edinburgh, we have partnered with Axiom Hospitality who are kindly supporting our community tours of the city through their Meet with Purpose Programme. The voco Edinburgh Royal Terrace have worked with Invisible Cities since September 2022. Thanks to each Day Delegate Package that includes our “Meet with Purpose” option, one guest can come on our tour for free!
Since the start of this partnership, we have delivered free tours to over 1000 people !
But that’s not all: the guides and trainees at Invisible (Edinburgh) have also been able to distribute “Welcome to Edinburgh” goodie bags to children that include games, activities and sweet treats from the capital!
Zakia Moulaoui Guery is the founder and CEO of Invisible Cities, an award-winning social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become tour guides in their own cities. Passionate about social impact, storytelling, and community empowerment, Zakia launched Invisible Cities in 2016 to challenge perceptions of homelessness and provide meaningful opportunities for people to share their experiences and knowledge through unique walking tours.
Currently UK based, her goal and mission have always been around doing tourism differently and creating a positive social impact. Encouraging people to visit our cities, and hear untold stories – taking them home and sharing them. By welcoming people into our communities we encourage visitors from near and far to leave a city better than they found it.
Originally from St Etienne in the South of France, Zakia has worked internationally on homelessness, social enterprise, and community engagement projects. Before founding Invisible Cities, she worked with the Homeless World Cup Foundation, where she saw first-hand the power of sport and community in changing lives. This experience inspired her to develop a sustainable, empowering model that provides training, development and support for people who have experienced homelessness – whether that is around confidence building, storytelling, public speaking or guiding.
Zakia moved to Edinburgh at the age of 21 and has travelled the world with her roles past and present. Under Zakia’s leadership, with her expansive knowledge of non-profits, Invisible Cities has expanded to multiple locations, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, and Cardiff, with plans to launch in new cities each year.
The enterprise is delivering award-winning tours that showcase hidden stories, local heritage, and powerful personal experiences. Her story and mission have been featured by the BBC, The Guardian, and Lonely Planet, and she continues to champion ethical tourism and social change through innovative projects.
Zakia is also active in the broader community, engaging in discussions about sustainable tourism and social entrepreneurship. She has participated in events alongside notable figures, such as Prince Harry, to promote conscious travel and community impact under the Doing Tourism Differently banner.
Zakia was also named as a National Geographic Traveller of the Year in 2024 and has won a number of travel industry awards for her work including an Arival Spotlight Award and Tourism Innovation Award.
Committed to creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds, Zakia works closely with local communities, charities, and businesses to ensure Invisible Cities remains a force for good. She is continually lobbying to ensure that misconceptions are addressed and that communities from large employers and organisations right through to individuals in the community are working together to create positive and meaningful change.
Follow Zakia on LinkedIn.
For more insights into Zakia’s work and philosophy, you can watch her TEDx talk, “Invisible People” where she discusses the importance of recognising and valuing every individual in our communities.
And as her best friend says; “you just keep walking forwards” – and that’s what we’d love for you to do with us.
Goodness: Homeless Tour Guides
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