Tips For Making Income As A Black Person Who Travels

Traveling while Black has seen drastic changes throughout the years. For over 30 years, Victor Hugo Green’s The Negro Motorist Green Book was the safety guide for Black people as they began to move around the country. The implementation of Jim Crow Laws and extreme racism left some areas unsafe for travelers and their families.

These skewed thoughts even followed Black people into the air. According to Condé Nast, some major airlines even had “special instructions on how to handle negro passengers.”

Bigoted guidelines included bumping Black passengers from their seats if white flyers needed to board, segregated seating, and even being denied a reservation “due to an unex­pected request from a white passenger.'”

These injustices weren’t only reserved for the everyday flyer. In 1954, legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was bumped off a plane in Honolulu.

The Pan American Airlines flight stopped to refuel in Honolulu and refused to allow Fitzgerald to reboard.

She could not retrieve her clothing and other items still on the flight. Fitzgerald was forced to wait three days before getting a new flight to her final destination of Sydney, Australia.

The airline claimed the singer’s displacement was due to “inadvertence.” She would later sue the carrier and win a settlement of $7,500.

While jet-setting around the globe can still lead to mentally taxing situations, access to travel and experiences has wildly shifted for Black people.

We are not the driving force behind tourism. Travel Pulse reported that Black travelers spent $109.4 billion on travel in 2019.

One of the driving forces behind the increase of Black travel is the representation provided by Black travel influencers. Individuals on social media show people of color the joys of venturing to places our ancestors could only imagine.

They aren’t only giving tips on how to book cheap flights, but also dropping gems on how to get paid for it.

These figures offer advice on everything from how to efficiently use your airline points to places Black women should avoid when solo traveling.

For example, Ashlee Major Moss has created content worldwide and worked with large hospitality companies such as Airbnb. She is also a 2023 nominee for Travel Noire’s Favorite Individual Travel Influencer.

Daniel Mann is the ultimate solo traveler that has taken his followers along on some of the world’s most unique travel experiences.

Here’s some advice on how you can turn your next family trip into a business opportunity.

1. Have a unique perspective so you stand out! – Be yourself! The travel market is oversaturated. Find your audience and connect with them.

2. Invest in your content- This doesn’t mean breaking the bank on your first camera but investing your time is essential—researching and engaging your audience and planning your content.

3. Connect – Reach out to brands and other travel influencers to network and get your name on their radar. Creating a press kit to show the benefit of collaborating and partnering is a great idea.

Let us know if you have any questions or tips on building connections and making money as a travel influencer and watch Blavity’s video below: