15 Top Black Travel Influencers to Follow in 2023

“Human beings are more alike than unalike, and what is true anywhere is true every-where, yet I encourage travel to as many destinations as possible for the sake of education as well as pleasure.” - Maya Angelou

Within the travel industry, there is still a big gap when it comes to diversity and representation. According to a recent study by Mandala in 2019, African American travelers contributed an estimated $109.4 billion on leisure travel in 2019. That equated to roughly 13.1% of the U.S. leisure travel market. In 2018, it is estimated that Black Americans spent roughly $63 billion on leisure travel.

African American cultural travelers are the highest spenders, with an average per trip spend of $2,078 vs $1,345 for all African American travelers. It is reported that Black U.S. leisure travelers took an average of three overnight vacations with an average stay of 2.5 nights for each trip. It is also reported that travel parties typically spent about $600 on each overnight stay.

As the Black travel movement continues to gain momentum, online representation of Black travel influencers and digital creators on social media also continues to rise.

If you're looking to explore the world more and would love to have access to useful travel tips, affordable style inspiration as well as travel inspiration, here are the top 15 Black travel creators that you need to follow.

1. Annette: @fromannettewithlove

Annette is a digital creator, writer, activist, public speaker and Editor-in-Chief of The Fat Girls Guide. She is also the creator of Fat Girls Traveling, a plus size travel community.

The Fat Girls Guide is the official blog for the Fat Girls Traveling movement, and is a fat positive platform that is dedicated to telling fat stories, highlighting fat bodies, and changing the landscape of travel, fashion and lifestyle brands.

Using her platform, she aims to empower and highlight content from both established and upcoming creators in fat fashion, travel, politics, dating and more. The movement continues to push for representation so that other fat women can see women in similar bodies following their dreams of travel and expressing themselves through style and fashion.

2. Ashlee: @willdrinkfortravel

Ashlee is a digital creator, travel blogger, Instagram influencer and freelance writer. She is on a mission to show her audience that traveling the world through food and drink is a great way to immerse themselves into other cultures besides their own. She considers herself a cocktail enthusiast and is passionate about highlighting Black-owned spirits.

So far, she has visited 30+ countries and among the popular tourist destinations that she's visited include Tanzania, Zambia, and South Africa.

Ashlee has been featured in popular publications such as Essence, Thrillist and The Grio. She's also appeared as an on-air lifestyle expert for local TV stations like MyTV Baltimore and Great Day Washington.

3. Asiyami Gold: @asiyami_gold

Asiyami Gold is a freelance multi-faceted curator and creator who blends her passion for design, travel and photography to tell stories. She is known for her visually stunning and vibrant photos which showcase her travels to different places all around the world.

Her content is diverse and she frequently shares information about lifestyle and travel. Her Instagram account is a blend of travel photography, fashion, and lifestyle content. On her lifestyle blog, she shares her travel stories and experiences, as well as tips and advice for fellow travelers.

4. Carol Cain: @girlgonetravel

Carol Cain is an award-winning travel blogger, keynote speaker and the founder of Girl Gone Travel, a travel blog and social media platform that aims to inspire women to travel more. So far, she has traveled to 35+ countries across 5 continents, and 36 states in the U.S.

By sharing travel tips, guides, and stories, she hopes to inspire people to stay informed and to be better citizens of the world wherever they go.

She has been featured in various publications such as Huffington Post, Forbes and The Independent.

5. Ciara Johnson: @hey_ciara

Ciara Johnson is a female digital creator who is not only passionate about living an adventurous life, but also helping others do the same. Before becoming the solo travel queen, she was working in corporate HR for nearly 2 years, after which she quit to pursue solo travel all around the world.

As a regular solo female traveler, she continues to inspire and teach her online community travel hacks for their next trip.

6. Danielle: @hotelwhisperer

Danielle is an award-winning travel journalist, a luxury experience curator and hotel lover. Popularly known as the “The Hotel Whisperer” she strategically engages some of the top luxury hospitality brands in the world, with the aim of helping these brands reach and connect with consumers and major players in the Black travel space.

Danielle has successfully connected a younger generation to luxury brands, experiences and destinations. The assumption was always that these privileges were only to be enjoyed by business and seasoned travelers, but not any more.

As a journalist, her writing has been published on popular digital sites such as Yahoo Travel, Travel Noire, JET Magazine, among others.

7. Francesca Murray: @onegrloneworld

Francesca Murray is a travel blogger, social media influencer and travel expert who has been traveling the world for over a decade. She is a passionate storyteller and is one of the pioneers of the Black travel movement.

So far, she has visited 90+ countries. Her blog and social media platforms focus on budget travel, solo travel, and sustainable travel, providing readers with travel tips, advice and reviews. She's also known for her vlogs on YouTube, which document her travels and give a more personal perspective of her experiences.

She's very passionate about responsible tourism and continues to use her platform to uplift and educate especially young women and solo travelers on all matters travel.

8. Glo Atanmo: @glographics

Glo Atanmo is a travel blogger, content creator and social media influencer. She is the founder of "The Blog Abroad" which is a platform that provides travel tips and inspiration for people of color and female travelers. She is passionate about inspiring others through her journey of being a solo female traveler

As a full-time nomad, she has traveled to 90 countries solo and 6 as a couple. The Blog Abroad has grown to be a popular platform for travel information and advice. Glo has been recognized for her work by various publications such as The Huffington Post, Upworthy, Ebony, Elite Daily, among others. She has been nominated and won several awards, including being named as one of the best travel bloggers in the world by BBC.

9. Lauren Gay: @outdoorsydiva

Lauren is a travel blogger, podcaster, TV travel expert and social media influencer who focuses on outdoor and adventure travel. She is passionate about empowering Black women through travel and outdoor recreation.

She is known for her love of hiking, camping, and exploring nature and has a strong following on social media platforms. She runs the outdoorsydiva website and blog where she shares travel stories, tips, and inspiration for outdoor adventures. She also shares her personal experiences, including her struggles and triumphs as a person of color in the outdoor industry.

Lauren also advocates for more diversity and representation in the outdoor community and encourages people from underrepresented groups to get outside and explore.

10. Lọlá Ákínmádé: @lolaakinmade

Lọlá Ákínmádé is a Nigerian-Swedish travel writer, photographer, and cultural storyteller. She is the founder of Geotraveler Media Academy, a travel multimedia company providing creative copywriting, social media services, travel consulting, and visual storytelling services. The company focuses on responsible tourism and cultural storytelling.

Lola Akinmade has traveled to 75+ countries and her work has been featured in numerous publications such as National Geographic, BBC, The Guardian, CNN among others. She is a frequent speaker at travel industry events and is also known for her storytelling approach to travel, as well as her ability to bring a unique perspective to the stories she tells.

11. Nathan Fluellen: @worldwidenate

WorldWideNate, also known as Nathan Fluellen, is a popular American travel vlogger, blogger, and social media influencer. He is also a 3-time winner of LAWebfest’s Most Outstanding Series and Series Host.

Since he started traveling the world in 2004, he has managed to visit 50 countries across 6 continents. Nate is known for his travel vlogs, which document his adventures and experiences around the world. Nathan Fluellen also runs a blog, where he shares travel guides and tips, as well as personal stories from his travels. He is also known for his humor and relatability, which has helped him to connect with a wide audience.

12. O. Christine: @O.Christine

Olivia Christine is a digital creator, writer, content creator and an outdoor and wellness travel expert who is on a mission to empower women and BIPOC communities to prioritize travel and wellness, invest in experiences and connect with the outdoors. So far, she has traveled to 35+ countries and 40 states in the US.

Through her blog, she provides valuable tips on travel, wellness and outdoor creation to her audience so as to help them live well, travel more and get outdoors.

She has been featured in major publications like OWN and CNN.

13. Oneika Raymond: @oneikatraveller

Oneika Raymond is an Emmy-winning explorer and travel storyteller, travel blogger and digital nomad. She is a travel junkie who enjoys living life outside her comfort zone while inspiring other women and people of color to do the same.

So far she has traveled to 100+ countries across 6 continents. As an award-winning travel and lifestyle writer, her work has been featured on major publications such as Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet and Oprah Magazine.

Oneika has also been featured in major media outlets such as CNN, NBC, Travel Channel, among others. She has also hosted two series on Travel Channel: "Big City, Little Budget" and "One Bag and You're Out."

14. Tausha: @theglobegetter

Despite working full time at her communications job during the week, Tausha still makes time to travel and see the world solo. On her blog, she shares her travel stories and travel tips with the aim of showing people that it's possible to work and still travel.

Her work has been featured in major publications like Yahoo!, Travel Noir, The Huffington Post among others.

15. The Erick Prince: @minoritynomad

Erick is a travel journalist, writer, photographer and world traveler who is on a mission to become the first African American to visit every country in the world. So far, he has visited 95+ countries and counting.

His work has been featured in major publications and media outlets such as Nat Geo, Forbes, The Huffington Post, T+L and Sony.

Conclusion

Whether you're into solo travel, group trips or even family travel, be sure to keep up with these and other brilliant Black travel creators on social media and/ or via their travel blogs.

You can learn so many tips and tricks while still supporting their craft.

Resthaven Properties

Unified Hub is an online booking engine that shifts the accommodation search experience from “where” to “who.” Consumers are inspired to experience the same properties as the value-aligned content creators they follow which leads to intentional purchase decisions based on whom they are spending in support of, not where they will be located when they spend.

Resthaven Properties is a collection of Black-owned luxury vacation properties. Resthaven Properties focuses on acquiring vacation property across the world's best travel destinations for predictable income and appreciation. So far, the luxury properties under the Resthaven Properties portfolio include Resthaven Los Angeles, Resthaven Tahoe, and Resthaven Zihuatanejo. Resthaven Properties operate under membership options that disrupt traditional lodging and timeshare accommodations by implementing a pay once and use for a lifetime strategy. The team opportunistically acquires properties in the 5-7M range based on the high potential for appreciation and a prime location for leisure travel and intentionally supports diverse vendors in each property.

Bay Street Capital Holdings is a leading Black-owned investment firm. The team of 17 is 75% women, 66% 1st-generation American, and 47% under the age of 30. DLA Piper serves as legal counsel, Weaver serves as tax advisor, and Juniper Square serves as fund administrator.

Sources

https://thesophisticatedlife.com/blog/amazing-black-travel-bloggers-follow/

https://www.beenaroundtheglobe.com/black-travel-bloggers/

https://blog.feedspot.com/black_travel_blogs/

https://passportsandgrub.com/top-travel-bloggers-black-travel-bloggers/

https://www.travelandleisure.com/photography/black-travel-influencers-instagram