Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545782
African American families packed it alongside extra food and spare gasoline — prepared for a road that offered no assur ance of welcome. Victor Green wrote in 1948: "There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. Thankfully, THAT DAY HAS COME: Andy Ingraham, presi dent/CEO of the National, Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators, and Developers, (NABHOOD) reports that Black hotel owners currently have properties in over 35 states in the U.S. Later this year, Black Meetings & Tourism is scheduled to introduce the TRAVEL BLACK AMERICA 250 digital platform which will provide a ready resource for travelers seeking to find AfricanAmerican related her itage sites, venues, activities and experiences throughout the coun try and some U.S territories. THE $145 BILLION INHERITANCE AND THE ROAD AHEAD According to MMGY's April 2026 Portrait of American Travelers, U.S. travel demand is at record highs — with African Americans at the center of that momentum. Portrait of Black Travelers in America, released in early 2025 by MMGY with the Black Travel Alliance (BTA) and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), docu ments 184 million trips by African American leisure travelers in 2023, generating $145 billion in travel expenditure — a 33% increase from the $109.4 billion reported in 2019. African American travelers represent 11% of the U.S. leisure travel market. Pertraveler spend reached $2,992 for 2025, up $1,300 over the prior period. Black meeting professionals report average spend exceeding $2 million annually, with 7% above $5 million. In today's world, African Americans will continue to travel the globe and enjoy the absolute best it has to offer — while consciously making a difference in the lives of people of color. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS: RECKONING AND RENEWAL On July 4, 2026, the United States observes its Semiquincentennial — 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For African Americans, this is not simply a national milestone. It is an invitation to stand in the full truth of this country's story and demand it be told — not as a footnote, but as the living center of what America actually is. Black America 250™ and its companion initiative Travel Black America 250™ answer that invitation, working to bring the full scope of African American heritage to travelers and destination communities nationwide. For nearly 35 years, Black Meetings & Tourism(BM&T) has served as the exclusive international trade publica tion providing a voice, a platform and a telescope for and about this burgeoning AfricanAmerican segment of the TravelTourismhospitality industry. Through its report ing on the business of Travel, BM&T has shown that Black travelers are not newcomers to this geography. They built it, survived it, and have been returning to it — by freedom route and railroad, by automobile and airplane, by reunion and homecoming and pilgrimage — for gener ations. At the nation's Semiquincentennial with the increase in popularity of Black travel clubs and networks across the country, more and more, Black travelers are using their dollars to send a strong mes sage to the Travel industry; Black Travel MATTERS. These travelers are directing their business to those companies that embrace and support DIVERSITY and INCLUSION. They are choosing destinations, venues, businesses, and attractions that have demonstrated their commitment to DI in hiring practices, promotions, advertising in Blackowned media, sponsorships, edu cational, investments and community involvement. When possible, they Stay at a Black owned hotel, Use the services of a Black travel agent/specialist and/or tour operator, Visit a Black heritage site/venue, Have a meal at a Black Owned eatery Patronize local Black businesses. These patterns and trends have been evident in every era of Black Travel and continue to drive this market segment, economically empowering Black communities around the country. We have always been a people who know how to move, who insist on moving, and who have moved across every obstruction toward free dom, family, reunion, and home, using our dollars TO MAKE A DIF- FERENCE — THE JOUR- NEY CONTINUES. 30 B M & T ••• July/August 2026 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com BA 250 Special Edition