BLACK BRITISH TRAVELLERS ARE MORE INFLUENCED BY CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY AND REPRESENTATION IN MARKETING THAN THEIR EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS
MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe Webinar Presentation Scheduled for 26 May, 2021 at 4 PM (London) Panellists Include Black Travel Alliance, Tripadvisor and the European Travel Commission
London, United Kingdom (May 14, 2021) — MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe announced today the U.K. and Europe results from The Black Traveller: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities research report. The study originated by MMGY Travel Intelligence in the U.S. on behalf of Black traveller advocacy organisations to identify the needs, behaviours and sentiments of the Black travel community. The report surveyed 1,504 Black leisure travellers from U.K./ Ireland (500), France (501), and Germany (503). Among the major findings, the study reveals a collective spend of £16.26 billion British pounds or €18.7 billion euros among Black travellers in the UK, Ireland, France and Germany.
According to the report, Black travellers – particularly those in the U.K./Ireland, the U.S. and Canada – are paying close attention to how destinations and travel service providers approach diversity and have indicated that it has an influence on their travel decision-making. Further to that, how Black people are represented in marketing and advertising collateral also plays a key role, with 42% of U.K./Ireland Black travellers agreeing that they are more likely to visit a destination if they see Black representation in travel advertising. However, there was far less agreement among Black travellers from France (27%) and Germany (15%).
Though the spotlight has been on diversity and inclusion in the past year, Black travellers are also highly concerned about a destination’s safety when it comes to deciding whether to visit. Interestingly, the respondents from the U.K./Ireland (58%) also outweighed the French (31%) and German (21%) respondents on this question; this raises new theories about the impact of race relations in these countries.
“As travel rebounds throughout Europe with a renewed focus on sustainability and equity in travel, this groundbreaking study illuminates how a relatively underrepresented segment of the travelling public perceives safety and feeling welcome,” says Cees Bosselaar, Managing Director of MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe. “U.K. and European destination and travel brands have an opportunity to address some of the lesser-known concerns afflicting the Black traveller by observing the results of this important study,” said Bosselaar.
Regardless of conflicting thoughts on diversity in travel, one thing that remains evident is that Black people are large contributors to the travel industry. The report revealed that Black travellers in the U.K./Ireland spent £7.1 billion, Germans spent €7.2 billion, and French Black travellers spent €4.4 billion on domestic and international travel in 2019. This clear enthusiasm for exploration, along with pent-up demand from the pandemic, is also fueling their travel plans for 2021. Black travellers from the U.K./Ireland intend to take 4.1 overnight leisure trips this year, from Germany 2.6 trips, and from France 2.1 trips.
“The Black travel movement is a global one, and this ground-breaking study highlights the economic opportunity for destinations and travel brands who actively market to Black travellers living in North America and Europe,” states Ursula Petula Barzey, Research Committee Chair of the Black Travel Alliance. “The study also accentuates that the lack of diversity and inclusion in the travel industry is not just an American problem, as Black travellers living in all European countries included in the study indicated they have felt unwelcome in destinations and hotels/resorts. Thus, there is work to be done and this requires a country-specific approach as Black travellers are quite diverse in their interest as well as response to challenges encountered while travelling.”
Register for the webinar here
Purchase the full report here
The Black Traveller: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities report was made possible by Choice Hotels International®, Tripadvisor and Virginia Tourism Corporation, as well as by input and oversight from a steering committee of diverse industry experts and through partnerships with travel advocacy organisations, including the global Black Travel Alliance (BTA), U.S.-based National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals, and the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD). Each of these travel advocacy organisations are set to receive 10% of the net proceeds from the sales of the report, and the remaining 70% are funding two new grants: the Black Travel Organization Grant and the Black Travel Content Creator Grant, both of which were issued in spring 2021.
The Black Traveller: Insights, Opportunities & Priorities report is available for purchase at mmgyintel.com for £1,450 British pounds or the euro equivalent. All profits from the study are being donated to Black travel advocacy organisations from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom where the Black travell er study was conducted. So far US$100K has been allocated.
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About MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe
MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe is MMGY Global’s industry research and insights brand in Europe, offering proprietary data and research designed to power travel industry decision-makers through consumer insights, travel performance data, and audience modelling and segmentation. With offerings including the inaugural Portrait of European Travellers® study, MMGY Travel Intelligence Europe features top consumer insights exclusively for the travel and tourism industry. To learn more about the extensive collection of research, analytics and strategy services, visit mmgyintel.com/europe or email us at research@mmgyglobal.com.
About Black Travel Alliance
The Black Travel Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation with Black travel content creators as members from across the globe. Our three pillars of the community are alliance, amplification and accountability. As travel authors, bloggers, broadcasters, journalists, photographers, podcasters, social media influencers and vloggers, we unify to amplify. We also aim to provide training and business support to our members, as well as hold destinations and travel brands accountable on the issue of diversity in travel marketing and storytelling. For more information, visit www.blacktravelalliance.org.
Media Contact
Jonathan Sloan
MMGY Global
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