Back in 1990, when I launched my first publication —The Black Convention— our nation was in the midst of a deep recession. It was not a good time to start any business, and yet, it was probably the most appropriate time to establish a publication that targeted the growing and lucrative African-American market.

Why? Because the meetings/travel industry, which had been enjoying a high degree of success over the preceding decade or so, was in serious trouble. Destinations that had long been able to boast healthy and increasing visitor numbers found themselves faced with plummeting occupancy rates and dwindling revenue. Downsizing, layoffs and belt tightening were the order of the day.

Industry honchos, in an effort to stave off disaster, began searching for new potential clients to fill the void left by general market customers who had drastically cut back their travel schedules, or had stopped traveling altogether. Destination marketers, who had once ignored, and in some cases even scorned the African-American traveler, were now taking a second look at this niche.

Old habits and latent feeling of bias are hard to shake. But when doing so can make the difference between going belly up or experimenting with new strategies that could bolster the bottom line, even the most reluctant admit that it’s worth the effort. So at least some destination reps took a chance and began targeting this untapped market by, among other things, placing advertising in our publication.

Fortunately for us, and for them, their investment met with success, as African-American meeting planners and travel agents took note and began sending business their way. The good news is that what transpired created a win-win situation for both the African-American market segment and the meetings/hospitality industry a large.

Occupancy rates slowly began to rise again, in no small part due to the increased interest of African-American meeting planners and leisure travelers. And our publication got off to a reasonable start when many small businesses were going under. The bad news is that our role as an industry safety net was established.

Now you might think that’s a good thing. But from my perspective, it’s far from desirable. Ask yourself this question – what is a safety net? A safety net is like having insurance. You only use it when you have a crisis situation, when everything else fails. The truth is, even if you have a safety net, you hope you’ll never have to use it. And sadly, that’s the way that far too many in our industry view the African-American market. During the good times, when business is robust, they all but ignore us. They limit their participation in organizations like the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners, cut back on sponsorship and underwriting for African-American associations, and eliminate or drastically reduce budgets for advertising in publications that target Black travelers. But as soon as business shows a downturn, as it did after 9/11, or when the US went to war with Iraq, destination reps trip over each other trying to court the African-American market that they have heretofore refused to fully embrace.

Black Meetings & Tourism does not want to be anyone’s safety net. We want our clients in this industry to work with us and support us during good times as well as bad times, just as we have always done for them. We don’t want to sit on the sidelines watching the industry prosper but not able to participate because our role as a safety net is uncalled for at a particular time. In my opinion, the only way we can all win and be truly successful is if those of us who represent the African-American market can become full partners in this industry, and not just called upon when general market business goes soar.

SJH
publisher@blackmeetingsandtourism.com