Gaza Travel Agency: A Reflection on the Right of Return

By Tiago Vilas Boas, Design Coordinator & Volunteer

It was a rain-soaked day in Eindhoven. Away from the frenetic energy of the 2025 Dutch Design Week, inside a container we were designing the most fundamental of human journeys: the journey home.

The Gaza Travel Agency (GTA) was a speculative design project, a space to imagine the return of Gazans to their ancestral homes. From October 18th to 26th, we invited visitors to step out of the debate and into a vision of return to explore the routes, the logistics, and, most importantly, the emotions of reclaiming a homeland.

Volunteers welcoming visitors at Gaza Travel Agency.

At the end of one such day, I turned to Nora, a first-time volunteer. "How do you feel after concluding a day at the GTA?"

She smiled after a day of exhaustion. "I feel really good to be part of this," she said. Later, as we boarded the bus back to our own homes. I realized the power of our project, making the return tangible, and in doing so, questioning why it isn’t normalized. The right to return home should not be a radical idea, yet for millions of Palestinians remained denied from it.

The Right of Return is grounded in international law. The Right of Return is a human right, a legal principle affirmed by the United Nations more than 135 times since 1948. That was the year of the Nakba, the "catastrophe", when over 750,000 Palestinians were ethically cleansed from their homes and lands. 

This historical information, however, feels abstract until you make it personal. So, I ask you, the reader: How would you feel if you could never go back? Not just to your house, but to the land, to your relatives to the land that you called home. 

How would you feel if you could never go back? Not just to your house, but to the land, to your relatives to the land that you called home. 

On my first day, I was worried about strong, even hostile, reactions. Would people cry, reject our narrative, or accuse us of politicizing a design event? The reality was a profound and moving surprise.

Instead of anger, I witnessed an outpouring of compassion. The space became a basket  for solidarity, filled by volunteers, visitors, and our partners. One visitor, very emotional, simply said, "Thank you for this." Another stated, "I only came to see this," underscoring the deep hunger for spaces that address this injustice. The most common feedback was a plea for expansion: "This agency should be in other places, too."

Bashar Jadallah welcoming and explaning the Gaza Travel Agency concept.

We witnessed in our team the Palestinian volunteers turned the agency into a rehearsal space for their return. It became a practice space for a future they carry in their hearts. And when visitors arrived, return feel intimate and tangible, it was not a question of if, but when. In those conversations, the right of return stopped being a distant political idea and to be feasible.

Their work with us was so much more than volunteering. It was a quiet, daily act of resilience. Our palestinian friends offered a simple, powerful declaration to everyone who walked in: We remember. We are ready. We are already rehearsing for the day we go home.

The Gaza Travel Agency traded in something deeply valuable: empathy. In that small, temporary space, we learned that the most profound innovation is not technological, but human. It is the courage to be there for one another with humility and kindness, to imagine a future of repair.

In that small, temporary space, we learned that the most profound innovation is not technological, but human. It is the courage to be there for one another with humility and kindness, to imagine a future of repair.

A paper card to share on social media your support.

When I stepped out of the agency at the end of that long day, I didn't just leave a design installation. I carried something with me. The overwhelming love shared within its walls had, in a way I never expected, brought me home to a deeper understanding of my own humanity and our collective responsibility.

This project has been made possible only because of the dedication of our volunteers and the contribution of our supporters. We are extremely grateful of the conversations and the attention that Gaza Travel Agency has sparkled and we plan to continue advocating for the Right of Return. If you want to join us, check our Circle page.