Letter: Attracting the multicultural traveler

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why counties and cities have not taken advantage of the niche market of African-American travelers — or better yet, the multicultural travel market.

According to the University of Georgia, Terry School of Business, the multicultural tourism market is estimated to have $25 trillion dollars of disposable income by 2015 making it one of the most underserved and undervalued travel market segments, in my opinion.

Available market data shows that the middle and upper income segments of the African-American community have grown enormously in the past ten years, and more than 13 percent of households headed by African-Americans have incomes of $50,000 or more.

Given the current economic trend which has resulted in an increased popularity in “stay-cations”, or, vacations closer-to-home, I find it interesting that close to half of all affluent African-American households (those with household incomes of more than $50,000 a year) are located in the South.

The middle and upper class African-American baby boomers present the same travel marketing opportunities as Caucasian boomers for the travel industry, based on my reading.

In choosing a destination, more and more black travelers are searching for African-American heritage and culture. They have a greater appreciation of history, heritage, and culture; especially related to African-Americans. St. Augustine should plan events to capture those interests.

Both African-American and Gullah-Geechee history are alive and well here. During the 450th commemoration, St. Augustine attractions and accommodations have an opportunity to showcase the history of Florida and our 450 years of American history.

In order to achieve optimal success, however, we must build the infrastructure; have museums, and attractions that portray accurate, multicultural American history.

Derek Boyd Hankerson
St. Augustine

Derek Boyd Hankerson is lobbying the National Park Service for the inclusion of St. Johns County into the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and is working on other National Heritage Area projects in Northeast Florida. He also has lobbied the NPS Underground Railroad Network to Freedom project to include St. Johns County because of the county’s contribution to the Underground Railroad. Hankerson is a graduate or Webster University School of Business and Technology with a masters degree in management and leadership. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and completed graduate studies in organizational communications at Bowie State University.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News contributed photograph by Derek Hankerson