Title of Paper

Black Travel: More than just a Movement

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Stefanie Benjamin, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management Department at the University of Tennessee. Her research interests include social equity in tourism around the intersectionality of race, gender, and people with disabilities. She also researches film-induced tourism and implements improvisational theater games as innovative pedagogy

Alana Dillette, PhD, is an assistant professor in the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University. Her research interests stem from her passion for diversity, inclusion and social equity in tourism. Currently, her work revolves around studying the development of the Black Travel Movement

Abstract (150 Words)

Historically, Black travelers have dealt with harassment and humiliation when traveling. In response to these ongoing issues, Black travelers have taken things into their own hands, creating companies and organizations ‘for us, by us’ – Black men and women organizing and leading trips and tours around the world. This collective of Black travelers has morphed into what is now known in the industry as ‘The Black Travel Movement’ (BTM). Despite the growing popularity of these groups, academic research in this area remains sparse, with only a few studies published to date (Alderman, 2013; Butler, Carter & Brunn, 2002; Carter, 2008; Dillette et. al., 2018). Therefore, we thought it important to explore the roots of this Black travel movement through the eyes of its founders. Using social movement theory as a theoretical lens, a preliminary analysis of ten in-depth interviews was conducted to answer: What are the lived experiences of leaders in the Black Travel Movement?

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Black Travel: More than just a Movement

Historically, Black travelers have dealt with harassment and humiliation when traveling. In response to these ongoing issues, Black travelers have taken things into their own hands, creating companies and organizations ‘for us, by us’ – Black men and women organizing and leading trips and tours around the world. This collective of Black travelers has morphed into what is now known in the industry as ‘The Black Travel Movement’ (BTM). Despite the growing popularity of these groups, academic research in this area remains sparse, with only a few studies published to date (Alderman, 2013; Butler, Carter & Brunn, 2002; Carter, 2008; Dillette et. al., 2018). Therefore, we thought it important to explore the roots of this Black travel movement through the eyes of its founders. Using social movement theory as a theoretical lens, a preliminary analysis of ten in-depth interviews was conducted to answer: What are the lived experiences of leaders in the Black Travel Movement?