Safety, acceptance, and safety are not always a major concern for most white, straight people when it comes to international travel. For BIPOC and LGBTQ + explorers, however, the world isn’t exactly their oyster.
From the early to mid-20th century, black American travelers relied on them green book that there are gas stations, restaurants, hotels, etc. listed in the US that would be safe for them in a Jim Crow era country.
Eric Martin went back to the tradition of the Green Book by creating Black & abroad, a cultural collective dedicated to redefining world experiences for the modern black traveler.
“We started with it because we simply didn’t see any representation for the black traveler,” says Martin.
“When we started in 2015, black travelers were spending more than $ 50 billion annually on travel. That number rose from 2015 to 2019, where it was … nearly $ 110 billion. So our market share grew quickly, but the agency just wasn’t there. We’re talking about mainstream travel images. We’re talking about simply being reflected in part of the marketing, the Google results. ”
Black & Abroad originally started as a blog and a safe place for black travelers to share their experiences from different countries. “There wasn’t a lot of information about what it would be like to travel to some of these amazing places as a person of color,” says Martin. It organically evolved into a company that hosted group tours with a focus on travel to Africa. As DNA testing grew in popularity, Martin said many of his clients were able to trace their ancestry to specific African countries. “As a result, we saw a boom in the group travel business and Africa became the most popular travel destination,” he says. “As you can imagine, you go to a country that you know you are and experience it for the first time … stunning, utterly stunning.”
While COVID-19 has temporarily suspended group travel through Black & Abroad, Martin looks forward to resuming travel in 2022. Meanwhile, the company is focusing on virtual and small, local events to bring people together. “We are guided by three important principles. Discover, embrace, strengthen, ”says Martin. “Discover the world, adopt other cultures and strengthen the community. And we’ve done a great job so far to stay true to it. “
Accustomed to adversity, blacks and LGBTQ + people have been using their own travel resources for decades.
Historically, LGBTQ + travelers have relied on Green Book-like texts for travel safety as well. Bob Damrons directory (1960) was used at a time when the majority of states were banning same-sex relationships in both public and private spheres. Damron’s guidebooks helped gay men find bars, bookstores, and restaurants in the United States that were discreetly geared towards gay men.
Matthieu Jost recalled an uncomfortable stay in Barcelona with his partner and wanted to make sure his community felt welcome and safe when traveling. “[LGBTQ+ people] are […] Fear of finding a place that they don’t welcome, ”says Jost. “I want everyone in my community to feel safe. And that’s why we created misterb & b. “
misterb & b is a platform for travel in a safe space for LGBTQ + people and a hub for travel bookings. “You can find different types of accommodations like private rooms and entire places, villas and hotels around the world, and we have some specific features to help you feel safe, like reviews, like identity verification,” he says.
“We believe that our impact on the travel industry … that we were able to create a new market. We haven’t tapped into anything that already exists, but created something completely new, something super-specific and exclusive. We have something super strong that connects the LGBTQ community, ”he says.
