The results from the first phase of The Black Traveller: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities report were announced today.
The study was created on behalf of Black traveller advocacy organizations to identify the needs, behaviours and sentiment of the Black travel community. It analyses findings from the 2019 Shifflet TRAVEL
PERFORMANCE/Monitor, which surveyed 4,800 Black leisure travellers within the United States, and a 2020 survey of 200 members of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals [NCBMP].
The Black Traveller report shares that Black U.S. leisure travellers spent $109.4 billion on travel in 2019 – the most recent year reflecting normal travel spend prior to COVID-19. This spend was generated by 458.2 million Black U.S. traveller stays, which represents 13.1 percent of the U.S. leisure travel market.
The report also found that in 2019 Black leisure travellers took an average of three overnight vacations and spent an average of 13.1 nights in paid accommodations. U.S. Black travel parties spent an average of $600 on each overnight leisure stay, with an average stay of 2.5 nights for each trip.
“We have long suspected the amount that U.S. Black travellers spend on leisure travel was undervalued. So it is great to get confirmation through these two reports as a part of The Black Traveller study,” said Black Travel Alliance President Martinique Lewis. “These findings of the U.S. market, as well as additional data from the international report to be published in January, will become our calling card to destination management organizations and travel brands as we work to increase Black representation at all levels of the travel industry.”
The survey of Black meeting professionals showed equally significant numbers, greatly reinforcing the value of Black people in all facets of travel. NCBMP’s meeting professionals plan an average of 7.5 meetings per year and typically spend an average of over $900,000 annually on those meetings.
The average spend per meeting is over $120,000, with 57% of planners indicating that they typically plan off-site events for the attendees – translating into further positive economic impact for local communities.
Regardless of this large spend, Black meeting professionals continue to encounter hardships when organizing events for Black groups. Eighty-four percent of meeting planners indicate that some destinations are more welcoming of meetings with a majority of Black attendees than others, and 42 percent say their attendees have felt unwelcome in a destination in which they’ve attended a meeting in the past.
To this end, it is not surprising that word-of-mouth was indicated as the top source of information when considering host destinations. Meeting professionals also relied heavily on a destination’s transparent commitment to diversity, with 77 percent looking for representation in the destination’s marketing materials as a key indicator of receptivity and 80 percent analyzing the diverse racial composition of the destination.
“The results of this report are emotional for many of us and validate that the Black meetings and tourism industry matters. To all of those who have fought to warm cold hearts to our community’s importance or cried in the middle of the night after your work was overlooked, this report says, WE SEE YOU and WE HEAR YOU,” said National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals Chairman, Jason Dunn.
The final phase of the report is set to be released in January 2021 and will share data from a new survey analysing the current opinions and attitudes of Black leisure travellers globally. The survey will also delve deeper into the decision-making process for vacation planning and aims to uncover the barriers and experiences that Black leisure travellers encounter across international markets, including the U.S., Canada, UK/Ireland, France and Germany.
“It is vital for travel industry executives to better understand the needs, behaviours and concerns of underrepresented traveller communities. The findings from the report should be a call to action for travel professionals and are an important step in both underscoring the value of Black travellers and identifying solutions to better serve this important travel audience,” said MMGY Global’s CEO, Clayton Reid.
To ensure The Black Traveller: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities report appropriately documented the true sentiment of the Black traveller, survey questions were developed with oversight and input from a steering committee of diverse industry experts and through partnerships with travel advocacy organizations, including the Black Travel Alliance [BTA], the NCBMP and the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers [NABHOOD].
In a further commitment to advocacy, MMGY Global and its supporting sponsors, including Choice Hotels International®, Tripadvisor and Virginia Tourism Corporation, have pledged that all net proceeds will be donated back to the three partner organizations – BTA, NABHOOD and NCBMP – as well as several other not-for-profit groups.
By Harry S. Johnson