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I didn't read the whole thread, but if it hasnt been said, I will say it. Black people, by and large are more poor and have less disposable income, so they cant afford to travel.
The flip side is that the upper middle class blacks I know travel like anybody else. Affluent people who are well-traveled tend to be quite race and religion-agnostic.
The flip side is that the upper middle class blacks I know travel like anybody else. Affluent people who are well-traveled tend to be quite race and religion-agnostic.
I agree. But the question was "why do I see so few black tourists". My contention was that because there are percentagewize, they are poorer. There are fewer blacks in general compared to whites and other races, and of that number, a higher percentage are poor.
I can only speak from experience and to do otherwise would be foolish and a waste of time. I have a friend of mine who just went to Hawaii with his wife. This was the first time he had ever been on a plane (he's 29 if you're wondering). I on the other hand have been on a bunch of vacations, some domestic and a handful of international. We're both African American, grew up lower/middle class and in the exact same area.
The point to make is this, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE. It's about upbringing and priorities that are instilled in you by your parents/family.
I encourage everyone I know regardless of background to step outside of the beautiful US of A and experience a culture other than their own. Some do, some don't. It's a matter of preference.
I agree. But the question was "why do I see so few black tourists". My contention was that because there are percentagewize, they are poorer. There are fewer blacks in general compared to whites and other races, and of that number, a higher percentage are poor.
So the numbers add up to few black tourists
Intuitively, what you write makes sense. But, based on my experiences, this doesn't come close to answering the OP's question/topic of the thread. I think some of the earlier posts hit home more accurately. There are more than 40 million blacks in this country. And they do travel. But, as others have mentioned, traveling often means visiting friends and family and not taking part in touristy things. Traveling in itself costs money and many tourist attractions are low cost and free, but that doesn't change anything.
Intuitively, what you write makes sense. But, based on my experiences, this doesn't come close to answering the OP's question/topic of the thread. I think some of the earlier posts hit home more accurately. There are more than 40 million blacks in this country. And they do travel. But, as others have mentioned, traveling often means visiting friends and family and not taking part in touristy things. Traveling in itself costs money and many tourist attractions are low cost and free, but that doesn't change anything.
It's hard to speculate if, all things being equal (ex. income, family situation), African Americans (AA) travel at the same rate as other Americans but I think the main reason you see far fewer of them in relation to the percentage of their population at places like airports and tourist attractions is because of the financial disparity between the average AA and other groups. Are you saying that AAs with financial means equal to the average American will be just as likely to travel but instead of visiting your usual tourist destinations will instead visit family and friends? How do you come to this conclusion? If it's true I wonder why. Are they less inclined to like tourist attractions? I wonder if it's cultural? Whenever I go to historical sites or museums, there are usually very few AAs.
It's hard to speculate if, all things being equal (ex. income, family situation), African Americans (AA) travel at the same rate as other Americans but I think the main reason you see far fewer of them in relation to the percentage of their population at places like airports and tourist attractions is because of the financial disparity between the average AA and other groups. Are you saying that AAs with financial means equal to the average American will be just as likely to travel but instead of visiting your usual tourist destinations will instead visit family and friends? How do you come to this conclusion? If it's true I wonder why. Are they less inclined to like tourist attractions? I wonder if it's cultural? Whenever I go to historical sites or museums, there are usually very few AAs.
Good questions! Based on some research (I really hate just stating things without some evidence to support, so I apologize for my earlier post!), here are some things that I found:
-97% of black Americans take at least one leisure trip per year (and, remember, there are over 40 million black Americans in this country) (68% of black Americans take two or more leisure trips per year): https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstrea...=1&isAllowed=y
The most frequent trip purposes were visiting friends and relatives (64%), vacation (59%), and a weekend getaway (40%). The top five states visited were Florida, Texas, Georgia, California and Nevada. Miles traveled were 1-250 miles (40%), 251-500 miles (22%), and 501-1,000 miles (21%). Only 16% take a trip further than 1,000 miles away. The most common accommodation types were hotel/motel/resort (61%) and staying with family/friends (37%).
Quote:
The most common activities during trips included attending social or family events, shopping,
taking a scenic drive, fine dining, participating in night life, and attending festivals or live music
performances (each one of them with 50% or more responses, multiple response question type).
Average total spending, excluding shopping, was $886; average spending in shopping was $258.
These numbers are higher than reported by the USTA data. The most important factors when choosing a destination were cost, relatives or friends living at the destination, and distance to travel. The economic recession was the most common reason why African-American travelers say they will not be taking a trip the year following this survey.
Even taking into account differences in socio-economic status generally and the fact that blacks do travel less than others in this country, the point is that black Americans still do quite a bit of traveling in the US (and even outside of the US) each year. Even if you took out the "poor" black Americans, you'd still be left with a solid majority who are not in that situation and who can afford to and who do travel. I think the fact that more of us are not seen at the touristy locations has more to do with what myself and others have been writing (i.e. different interests based on experiences, different values, etc.) rather than because we can't afford to. It would be one thing if the vast majority of tourist destinations in this country cost an arm and a leg to get into; but that is far from the case. When my family travels, trust me, we are not going to the touristy spots (and, if we do, we are not spending very much time there), but instead are going out to eat, seeing family and friends, or taking part in some other "non-traditional" activity. Our experiences, in my view and based on the research supplied above, are not out of line with other black Americans.
In terms of explaining how culture affects these decisions along racial, etc., lines as well, take a look at tipping habits in the United States. Various research studies have shown that black Americans tip less than white Americans. And this even true when controlling for socio-economic status. What is a big reason for this? The fact that black customers are treated worse by waiters . . . the article I'll post points this out. In other words, discrimination, which could, to be fair, be based on the fact that servers think that they are going to be tipped less by black customers and, so, provide inferior service (but that has a ripple effect as black customers who would not have otherwise tipped poorly now have no reason to provide a solid tip), plays a role. Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/poste...urant-tipping/
Some other reasons include differences in opinion in terms of how much waiters should be tipped, which I attribute to cultural differences in eating out. Let me explain more what I mean by that. For generations, blacks have eaten out at lower rates than whites in this country, a fact that is often explained due to racism. Indeed, eating out in the Jim Crow south wasn't really an option and, even in the north/western states, many dine-in restaurants weren't opening in black communities. As a result, blacks more so cooked at home or ordered out, which led to a lack of exposure to proper restaurant etiquette.
I argue that a similar phenomenon is seen with travel. Generations of harassment at public places has created a different travel culture for many blacks in this country. While not as big of an issue today in my opinion (though many would disagree), blacks, in general, came to appreciate different things than some others in terms of traveling. While others may feel comfortable at certain touristy locations, I have found that this isn't always the case for many blacks. And its a generational thing. Yes, income and socio-economic status may play some part as well, but, based on my experience, that is a small part of the reason for explaining this issue away.
Last edited by prospectheightsresident; 12-19-2015 at 07:12 AM..
and while knitting on the Tube in London, a white-american couple stared at me; the woman turned to her husband and said in her mid-western accent '"unlike back home, here, knitting is popular with them.'" I smiled at her in return and said "except in New York, where I'm from." She looked like she was going to have a stroke. The Londoners burst out laughing. And all of this has been within the last 3 years.
I loved this little anecdote. Had I been on the tube with you I think I would've collapsed in a fit of laughter.
In terms of explaining how culture affects these decisions along racial, etc., lines as well, take a look at tipping habits in the United States. Various research studies have shown that black Americans tip less than white Americans. And this even true when controlling for socio-economic status. What is a big reason for this? The fact that black customers are treated worse by waiters . . . the article I'll post points this out. In other words, discrimination, which could, to be fair, be based on the fact that servers think that they are going to be tipped less by black customers and, so, provide inferior service (but that has a ripple effect as black customers who would not have otherwise tipped poorly now have no reason to provide a solid tip), plays a role. Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/poste...urant-tipping/
Some other reasons include differences in opinion in terms of how much waiters should be tipped, which I attribute to cultural differences in eating out. Let me explain more what I mean by that. For generations, blacks have eaten out at lower rates than whites in this country, a fact that is often explained due to racism. Indeed, eating out in the Jim Crow south wasn't really an option and, even in the north/western states, many dine-in restaurants weren't opening in black communities. As a result, blacks more so cooked at home or ordered out, which led to a lack of exposure to proper restaurant etiquette.
I argue that a similar phenomenon is seen with travel. Generations of harassment at public places has created a different travel culture for many blacks in this country. While not as big of an issue today in my opinion (though many would disagree), blacks, in general, came to appreciate different things than some others in terms of traveling. While others may feel comfortable at certain touristy locations, I have found that this isn't always the case for many blacks. And its a generational thing. Yes, income and socio-economic status may play some part as well, but, based on my experience, that is a small part of the reason for explaining this issue away.
Thanks for providing your perspective. I think what you stated doesn't really cross the minds of non-blacks as to the reason why you don't see very many blacks at a lot of tourist spots across the country. Also the links you provided were an interesting read. Hopefully in this day and age nobody would be made to feel uncomfortable travelling anywhere, especially in America, but based on what you said there are still some that feel uncomfortable because of the color of their skin.
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