African-American travel agents: Travails and survival

David L. Butler, Perry L. Carter, Stanley D. Brunn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Social science research on the struggles of early and contemporary independent African-American travel agents represents a void in the literature. These agents experienced serious obstacles to survival during the past half-century, not only during times of racial segregation, but more recently with airlines and government regulations, expensive technological innovations, and significant industry demands. Six agents describe their histories, successes and failures, and the futures of independent Black travel agents; serious difficulties remain, including access to capital. A scenario identifies the start-up costs for an independent Black travel agency in a medium-sized Middle West metropolitan area to illustrate the problems that remain. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1022-1035
Number of pages14
JournalAnnals of Tourism Research
Volume29
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2002

Keywords

  • African-Americans
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Race
  • Travel agent

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