African-American Travel Movement is Gaining Momentum
According to Mandala Research Firm, 17% of African Americans take one or more international trips and travel locally more than six times per year.
However, travel publications often paint a picture of a stereotyped Western tourist usually gazing at the horizon from the edge an infinity pool.
“If you look at major campaigns or advertisements for travel — especially luxury travel — you don’t see brown faces,” says Marissa Wilson, general manager of Travel Noire, a media company founded in 2014.
“That causes an issue because, psychologically, it makes those people feel like this isn’t made for them.
“Like they’re not supposed to be traveling. We wanted to infiltrate that narrative and flip it on its head.”
Besides addressing the under representation of travelers of color, Travel Noire aims to to challenge limiting beliefs around the accessibility of travel while providing access to resources that cater to their needs.
This means a big part of its work involves curating imagery of black people traveling across the globe.
“We were amazed at how hard it was to find a community of travelers who looked like us, much less find high quality images or stories about them online,” Wilson says.
SOURCE ⇒ CNN
