Three years ago, travel research and marketing firm MMGY Global released a report showing that Black Americans spent more than $100 billion on travel in 2019, a banner year for the industry. A staggering figure, for sure, driven by 458.2 million Black travelers stays or 13.1 percent of the US leisure travel market at the time. The pandemic upended such progress for all groups in 2020, and its lingering hold was evident in 2021 and 2022. Now, though, with the world fully reopened, expect Black travelers to expand their reach and ambitions alongside most five-star travelers: 49 percent of respondents in a survey conducted by Booking.com said they would likely spend more on their next trip.
What will drive their decisions on where to spend that expanding budget? Per a follow-up report by MMGY Global in 2021 54 percent of Black travelers were “more likely to visit a destination if they see Black representation in travel advertising.” Additionally, 71 percent of US and Canadian respondents agreed that “safety was extremely or very influential” in their decision-making on whether a destination was perceived as desirable for Black people. A chance to connect with locals and engage with activities that highlight Black culture were also decision-drivers, according to a poll by Global Green Book of Black travelers from over 60 countries, attracting 67 percent and 40 percent of respondents, respectively.
The travel industry as a whole has a poor reputation for representation: More than two thirds of travel advisors in America identify as white, and barely more than 7 percent are Black. Finding those Black advisors, though, and working with one who truly understands the luxury market is time consuming and complicated—and that’s where Robb Report‘s list can help. We’ve pulled together 14 need-to-know names, with varied specialties from cruise to safari, living and working everywhere from Atlanta to Tanzania—these are the people to call when you next want to book a vacation.
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Amina Dearmon, Perspectives Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Amina Dearmon Following a 15-year stint as a luxury beauty and fashion exec, Amina Dearmon launched her membership-based travel agency Perspectives Travel in 2019. Based in New Orleans, her firm Perspectives Travel operates on a tiered basis, with three levels of service: Silver, Gold and Platinum. The latter, costing $1,000 for 10 hours of planning, includes preliminary phone consultations, tour and restaurant bookings, as well as special offers after your trip for future travels.
Crucially for her luxury bona fides, her firm is affiliated with Virtuoso, an invitation-only organization that effectively acts as a guarantee of quality in the luxury travel space. Dearmon hopes to encourage Black travelers to absorb her sense of adventure. “I share my experiences as a luxury traveler with my clients in the hope that it will encourage other travelers of diverse backgrounds to feel confident in visiting the destination or property,” she tells Robb Report.
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Brianna Glenn, Milk + Honey Travels
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brianna Glen Milk + Honey Travels founder Brianna Glenn realized her love for travel after college via a 10-year professional track-and-field athlete. “I got to compete all over the world,” she tells Robb Report. “Travel had become such a huge part of my life and I loved the idea of finding a career that would keep me connected to that in some way. Glenn has visited over 30 countries and launched her Orange County-based agency in 2015 with a focus on properties and experiences that are “boutique in nature.”
Milk + Honey Travels, a Virtuoso member, plans trips around membership-based and per trip fees. Its services range from custom trip planning to VIP travel packages, and à la carte services. VIP travelers pay a one-time $2,000 retainer which includes unlimited travel planning for a year, travel concierge for all your trips and insider access to amenities at luxury partner properties—from Four Seasons to Mandarin Oriental—in destinations like Italy, Spain, France and Croatia. -
Kareem George, Culture Traveler
Image Credit: Adam Frazier/Courtesy of Kareem George As a lifelong traveler, Kareem George has ventured to over 80 countries across all seven continents. Managing a team of nine at his luxury travel agency named Culture Traveler in Franklin, Michigan, the specialist aims to foster greater global understanding through travel. “I feel strongly that travel is our best teacher,” he tells Robb Report. His firm helps diversify travel by promoting less visited destinations to its clients, with luxe stays from Hungary to New Zealand.
George is hoping to expand the cruise world’s relationship with Black travelers via his role on Hurtigruten Expeditions’ Black Traveler Advisory Board in 2022. “Black travelers are a large group keen to travel,” he tells Robb Report, and notes that 2023 looks stronger than ever, “The number of Black travelers we serve has already risen by 12 percent over this time last year.” Weeklong trips rates for two can range from $5,000 to $7,000 per person. Weekend escapes via yacht charter and private jet trips can cost anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000.
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Maurice Smith, Eugene Toriko
Image Credit: Courtesy of Maurice Smith Sustainable luxury travel specialist Maurice Smith is the founder of Eugene Toriko, a four-year-old company in Atlanta, with a team of eight Black advisors, including Smith. “After being in the industry for years, I noticed that there’s an inconsistency in the level of support provided to travel advisors/independent contractors,” he tells Robb Report via email. “This sparked my drive to build relationships within the industry with the ultimate goal to start my own independent travel agency.”
Come to him for adventurous, eco-minded trips—he has particular expertise in Central America. Smith’s focus on sustainability includes collating an assortment of affiliate properties that share his values—Bawah Reserve in Indonesia is a personal favorite, but he’s also an advocate for Habitas, the new luxury boutique operator which emphasizes minimal footprints with maximum impact. Trip design fees start at $499.
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Kemi Wells, Wells Luxury Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Kemi Wells U.K. native and Wells Luxury Travel founder Kemi Wells, has visited more than 60 countries across six continents and has lived on three of them. She joined the travel industry in 2014 as an executive for a travel management company before launching her own Vancouver-based travel agency in 2021 that specializes in curating luxe trips around celebrations, wedding anniversaries, honeymoons and birthdays.
For one recent trip she planned to Rwanda, a country that has helped pioneer the high-end, low-density tourism model that’s increasingly emphasized across Africa: Kemi coordinated a private jet-based trip there which included a stop in South Africa, too, with stays at One & Only Gorilla’s Nest and Singita Kwitonda. Fees start at $500 for 4 hours of planning at WLT. When booking trips during peak season, longer, complex trips can total around $150,000 to $250,000.
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Linda Scroggins, Affluent Luxury Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Linda Scroggins Affluent Luxury Travel is the brainchild of founder and president Linda Scroggins. Scroggins spent time in asset management and dispositions before launching her travel agency in 2019. She says she segued into the industry by turning her after hours abilities into a career. “While working in the legal profession for almost two decades, my hobby was researching and making travel arrangements for my friends and family, doing it for free because it was fun,” Scroggins tells Robb Report.
Her concierge-style, Virtuoso-affiliated company offers three tiers of membership—the highest end, Black, costs $200,000 per year. For that, expect access to booking everything from private jets to VIP one-off experiences like meeting actor Denzel Washington or receiving two ringside tickets to a boxing match in Las Vegas. Planning rates for ALT start at $1,000 per person and can reach up into the six figures for bespoke vacations and cruise adventures.
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Antoine Wilson & Okello Jao, Melanated Safaris
Image Credit: Courtesy of Melanated Safaris Looking to explore the Africa’s Serengeti or mainland Tanzania? Try Melanated Safaris founder Antoine Wilson and its co-owner Okello Jao. Their 100% Black-owned, Tanzania-based firm offers a diverse assortment of safari packages, varying from a five-day Serengeti-focused outing to two-week-long Ultimate Tours focused on various corners of the country.
“Each and every safari we give back to the local community in some shape or fashion, whether it’s giving school supplies to local Maasai Villages, or passing out sanitary napkins to school girls,” Wilson tells Robb Report. The firm specializes in small groups, with specific dates earmarked for each itinerary. Trips planned by the agency can range from $3,500 per person to $20,000 with VIP packages including 5-star hotels, expedited customs screenings and private transportation for your adventures.
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Belvin Baldwin II, Showtime Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Belvin Baldwin II Showtime Travel, founded by Belvin Baldwin II, is an Atlanta-based company that specializes in five-star all-inclusive vacations. Baldwin identified that niche as a turnkey option for the busiest of Black professionals—the ultimate five-star fly & flop—but will also work with anyone to custom-design a trip, as with a recent ask, where he helped organize a $200,000 trip to Ghana for a client’s birthday. It included a stay at five-star Kempinski hotel, private excursions, custom tailored clothing for each guest and a dedicated driver for the entire trip.
“The major challenge I see is the limited diversity marketing from luxury travel suppliers,” he says of the Black traveler today, “If they don’t see any diversity, they may feel that they are not wanted or may not enjoy their vacation.” -
Valerie Dorsey, Cruise Planners
Image Credit: Courtesy of Cruise Planners Valerie Dorsey’s niche is in her name: Cruise Planners. Dorsey launched the company after a 21-year career in pharmaceutical sales, as a post-retirement career, with an already existing love of travel. “About half of my business is with black travelers,” she says, noting that her role is as much advocate as agent. “I sit on the Board of ASTA South Florida as the director of membership. We are strong advocates of Blacks in the C-Suite of the cruise lines and all other aspects of the travel industry.”
Dorsey has expertise in all major cruising destinations from Alaska to the Mediterranean, and works almost exclusively with luxury lines like Viking, Silversea and Oceania. Cruise Planners’ rates average between $30,000 to $50,000 in total among luxury clients, Dorsey claims. One recent trip she planned, part cruise and part land, totaled $60,000 for clients to explore Greece and Italy.
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Jackie Williams, NuVibe Travel Experiences
Image Credit: Courtesy of NuVibe Travel Jacksonville, FL native Jackie Williams had a life-changing trip in 1998, two years after Hurricane Bertha ravaged St Martin and the Virgin Islands. Seeing students walking along the streets there amid still-ruined streets was an indelible memory for 16-year-old Williams and it set her up on the professional path she’s followed since: establishing a travel agency to help others experience similar awakening experiences via their travels.
NuVibe Travel Experiences specializes in destination weddings and vow renewals, as well as destination celebrations and bucket list adventures that includes safaris and luxury expeditions. Her rates for trip-planning start at $750, and $1,695 for destination weddings. Starting budgets are $1,500 per person and can add up to a starting budget of $21,000 for a seven-night experience.
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Tisha Neufville, Neufville Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Twitter Virtuoso-accredited, Atlanta-based Tisha Neufville is passionate about travel. As a teen with Jamaican roots, the luxury travel advisors explored the world from a young age with her parents and has now visited a total of six continents.
Neufville has lived in Asia three times, and is an insider guide to Japan above all—she’s recognized by the country’s notoriously picky tourism board, JNTO, as an advanced specialist in the country. Consulting fees for Neufville’s insider services range between $450 and $1,500 per trip.
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Tillie and Joseph James, Tilly James Travel
Image Credit: Courtesy of Tilly James Travel After 20 years of working in federal government, Tillie James became a travel advisor three years ago, and now co-owns her namesake firm with her husband, Joseph, a former event manager; planning rates start at $500 per itinerary.
The Richmond VA-based couple will plan luxury vacations across the world, from Peru to Paris, but has specific know-how in cruising, whether river-cruising in Europe or island-hopping around French Polynesia. They also operate select group tours—later this year, these include a 10-day trip to Provence and a music-focused Caribbean cruise.
