The Black Travel Report
Black travel brings in over $60 billion in tourism, but where is the recognition in this space
I have the blessing of working in the industry that became my lifestyle from a simple hobby—travel. As a travel writer, I have a bit of nuance because I’m a Black Muslim woman in this space—I don’t know others besides myself. I find my work vital because I am the poster board for diversity in travel, yet I don’t see it mirrored beyond my writing and personal experiences.
And let me be clear, I don’t desire to fill a box, but I do desire to make it apparent that Black people contribute to the travel industry and we deserve to be recognized.
What do I mean?
Revenue
In a 2018 study completed by Mandela Research, Black travelers contributed $63 billion to the travel industry. Yes, billions not millions.
The study polled over 1,700 Black Americans.
Black American “cultural” travelers are the highest spenders. Cultural travel encompasses music, food, dance, art, literature, academics, and social justice movements.
More than half reported that their most recent leisure destination was between 100-500 miles from home with Florida, New York City/New York, and Atlanta being top US destinations and Caribbean/Bahamas (38%) and Mexico (26%) mentioned as leading international destinations.
Food and shopping are leading spend categories with nearly half of travelers spending on local and/or regional cuisine on their most recent leisure trip. Shopping continues to be a popular activity for vacationers, most often at malls (41%) and outlet malls (34%), but also downtown (28%).
Where we are going
Black travelers typically want to know that they can go to a place that is welcoming of Black people. Simple. The question of safety and racism is something that I’m asked every single time I go somewhere new. People do not want to go somewhere they are going to feel like a sideshow, museum exhibit, or that their safety is in jeopardy.
Black travelers also like to go to places someone else can culturally vouch for. You may not see many Black American travelers going to Poland or Germany or Russia because they don’t believe that countries like those have a cultural significance or relevance to them. I, however, don’t believe that there’s anywhere in the world that I can’t go—but that’s my personal journey. And I know others that feel this way, but not all.
However, I’m also more inept to go to Mexico or Egypt to see pyramids as opposed to Paris and to see the Louvre because I want authentic cultural experiences. And if anyone is ready to have the conversation, the most interesting exhibits in European museums like the British Museum (London) or the Neues Museum (Berlin) are the stolen African artifacts they refuse to give back to the African countries they stole them from.
Marketing
Outside of the revenue Black travelers generate, it is often not mentioned that we are not included in the marketing that is used to draw in travelers. Even as a travel writer, whenever I am looking for stock photos to use for my articles, I have to literally type in “Black travelers” because if I just search “travelers”, there are a million pages of white people—no other ethnicity.
I don’t know the number of times I have looked at a resort and all of the families they have used to draw in tourists, are white. And this includes countries with populations of Black people.
With a world that is extremely diverse, I strongly believe that marketing materials such as brochures, commercials, and billboards should reflect that. The issue with that kind of linear perspective is that systemically corporations and tourism boards see whiteness as lucrative and welcoming.
The Usual Suspects
Unfortunately, we live in an age where actual travel journalists are sidestepped for travel influencers to cover stories and destinations. In the case of Black travel, the same people are often given the floor and the voice to speak and represent all of us in Black travel. This doesn't leave much room to show the range of the many of us that actively work in this space and create content to increase the world’s view of Black people.
There is much work to be done and it can begin with Black travelers and journalists who are in positions to have others be involved in generating more opportunities. I am a firm believer that there’s no way we can expect so much from corporate interests if when we get brand deals, sponsored travel, campaigns, etc. we are extremely unwilling to invite others that look like us into the room.
This is so important. Thank you for sharing! People do not realize the power of the black dollar across all industries.