By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
For decades, the mainstream travel industry has often overlooked the unique interests, safety concerns and cultural experiences valued by Black travelers. Now, a growing number of Black-led travel groups are changing that narrative— curating trips that foster adventure, community, cultural connection and empowerment across the world.
As the summer season kicks off, the AFRO spoke with three leading Black travel brands to learn about the gaps they are seeking to fill and the ways in which they’re shaping the travel industry.
NOMADNESS Travel Tribe
Credit: Photo courtesy of Evita Robinson
Though Evita Robinson is a New York native, she’s a three-time expat, having lived in Thailand, France and Japan. She founded NOMADNESS Travel Tribe in 2011— long before the rise of travel influencers. Her motivation was to build a community who she could identify with and who believed that travel wasn’t a phase but a life-changing experience.
The online travel community started with 100 people, but it has grown to nearly 40,000.
“NOMADNESS is a place where you can come in and have conversations— we’re definitely a 24-hour resource for people. But, I think some of the moments that have blown me away are when there’s an issue with one of our members and our community comes to their aid,” said Robinson. “We have a hashtag we’ve been using for a decade now. It’s ‘family by choice,’ and between Facebook and Instagram there are so many ‘family by choice’ posts.”
Robinson explained that her mission has evolved to include story-telling for underrepresented travelers. By spotlighting the travel experiences of communities of color, she aims to show that they belong in every corner of the world. She also seeks to preserve the lived experiences of Black travelers, recognizing that travel is not just about adventure — but about memory and legacy.
“We are our stories. We are our history,” said Robsinon. “That’s why they are trying to eradicate it and whitewash it. It is our duty and responsibility to not only document the stories of today in the space that we’re in right now, but also to protect those stories so that they can be passed down.”
Black and Abroad
Before Eric Martin and Kent Johnson became business partners, they struck a bond through their shared love for travel. They established Black and Abroad, a travel and lifestyle company, in 2015 after noticing the underrepresentation of Black travelers in traditional media and marketing.
“We realized that despite being part of this global experience, we didn’t see ourselves reflected a lot in the mainstream travel narrative at the time and certainly not in a way that felt authentic, empowering and nuanced,” said Martin. “You might see us in marketing material, but we’d just be in positions of servitude— not from the perspective of the traveler.”
Black and Abroad was created to inspire Black people to explore the world and to affirm that no destination is off-limits to them. The brand not only increases visibility for Black adventurers, it curates culturally-conscious, international trips to countries, like Brazil, Colombia, Senegal, Ghana and Tanzania.
Martin and Johnson are especially passionate about connecting Black travelers to the African diaspora. They believe travel can be a medium for African Americans to learn about their roots and draw cultural connections between their heritage and the wider world.
“Travel is a space for perspective and texture for what we already know. In the world we live in today, it’s very easy for the media to tell us one thing that may not be fully representative of the truth or what’s actually happening,” said Johnson. “When you get to visit places, be on the ground and see things with your own eyes, your perspective changes on things a lot of times.”
Buoyant Travel
It was a college business pitch competition that inspired Briona Lamback’s to found Buoyant Travel in 2017. The company celebrates Black travel, joy and community with curated group trips, international events and an exclusive club.
“The basis of Buoyant is that we were founded on serving Black travelers, but the point is to connect the diaspora with ‘cool’— cool people, cool places and cool experiences,” said Lamback.
As part of her trip planning, Lamback connects with on-the-ground partners around the world to craft authentic, culturally-rich experiences for her travelers. Her group trips have journeyed to destinations, like Ghana, Senegal and Brazil. She plans to add domestic locations, like New Orleans, in the future.
“Folks who are coming on our trips are coming on them to be amongst Black people, but also because they want to interact with local Black communities there, learn from each other and connect,” said Lamback. “That’s the void we’re filling.”
