Presented in partnership with the Black Travel Alliance (BTA) and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), the comprehensive study shares findings from three data sources: a national survey of 2,000 Black leisure travelers, intelligence from DK Shifflet’s Travel Performance/Monitor and an online survey of 200 members of the NCBMP.
“Creating memories, relaxing and exploring new destinations while feeling safe are paramount for today’s Black travelers,” said Simon Moriarty, VP, research & analytics, MMGY Travel Intelligence. “By offering actionable insights, these studies empower travel businesses to develop tailored strategies and solutions that resonate with the needs of each audience, driving both personalization and profitability.”
Leadership for the BTA and NCBMP echoed the importance of this research.
“The data shown in these reports speaks to the significance of Black travelers,” said Martinique Lewis, president, BTA. “It also is a wake-up call to many destinations that are considering adapting their current engagement strategy.”
Jason Dunn, CEO, NCBMP, added, “Once again, the data is clear: Black people do travel, and our buying power does impact communities. This should no longer be a question but a fact and a speaking point in all boardrooms, particularly in this climate of indecisiveness.”
Portrait of Black travelers in America
Based on a survey conducted by MMGY in fall 2024, the core report provides detailed insights and analysis of the Black travel audience in the U.S. Key findings include:
- High intent to travel: More than three-quarters (76%) of Black travelers plan to take a domestic vacation in 2025, with more overnight leisure trips planned than day trips during this period.
- Travel planning trends: Word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family remain the primary driver of travel planning decisions, particularly for Boomers. Notably, 87% of Black travelers express a willingness to pay for premium travel upgrades, including hotel accommodations and airline seat selections. Additionally, nearly half (46%) are members of Black travel groups like Black Travel Movement and Black Women Travels, which foster a sense of community and provide culturally tailored experiences.
- Travel motivations: Millennials show a particularly strong inclination toward destinations that celebrate Black culture, seeking opportunities to engage in cultural experiences and support Black-owned businesses. In contrast, Gen Zers and Boomers emphasize affordability as a key driver, reinforcing the desire for memorable and high-value travel experiences.
- Spending: Travel expenditures are expected to increase by $1,300 per traveler compared to the past 12 months, bringing the average total spend to $2,992 in 2025. Higher-income travelers allocate 59% of their budget to transportation and accommodations, compared to 51% among lower-income travelers.
Additional insights from the study include behaviors and preferences specific to the segments of international travel, business trips and more.
Black leisure segment profile
This section of the report profiles the unique and varied habits of Black travelers through comparisons to the overall U.S. leisure travel market, examining data from DK Shifflet’s 2023 Travel Performance/Monitor. Based on a sample size of 6,523 Black leisure travelers and a total U.S. leisure travel sample size of 54,428, the findings include:
- Black leisure travelers are somewhat different from the average U.S. leisure traveler—they tend to be younger, more likely to be employed, less likely to be retired, have a lower median income and are more likely to have children in the household.
- Trips for the U.S. Black leisure travel market totaled $184.12 million, accounting for 11% of the U.S. leisure market. As a segment, this audience spent $145 billion on their travels in 2023, with transportation and food and beverage accounting for the largest shares of spending.
- A majority of U.S. Black leisure travelers (79%) took their trips by car, traveling an average of 247 miles one way.
Other valuable insights from this section include destinations visited, travel party composition, accommodations, activities and more.
Black meeting planner segment profile
For the meetings section of the study, MMGY and NCBMP engaged 200 members of the professional trade organization in a January 2025 survey. Key findings include:
- The Black meeting professional plans an average of 5.5 meetings per year, down from 7.5 in 2020. This suggests that many meetings are being consolidated or held virtually.
- Typical meetings involve 501-2,000 peak room nights. Average annual meetings spend exceeded $2 million for respondents in 2024, with 7% reporting expenditures more than $5 million.
- Significantly more meetings with 100 or fewer room nights were planned in 2024 (19%) when compared to 2020 (12%), indicating that smaller, more personal meetings have become increasingly popular over the past five years.
Other findings indicate the types of meetings planned, off-site activities, destinations of choice, key challenges facing their profession and the demographics of the planners themselves.
To ensure the report appropriately documented the true sentiment of the Black traveler, survey questions were developed with oversight and input from a steering committee of diverse industry experts and through partnerships with the BTA and NCBMP.
Tags: Black Travel Alliance (BTA), DK Shifflet’s Travel Performance/Monitor, Jason Dunn, Martinique Lewis, MMGY Travel Intelligence, National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), Simon Moriarty