Who is the Black lesbian traveler? And why don’t we know more about her?

By Kimberley K. McLeod, Founder, ELIXHER Magazine
 
They say the single worse question you could ask a woman next to how much she weighs, is her age.  But asking this question (and others) of the Black lesbian traveler is critical to catering to
this often overlooked and untapped audience of jetsetters. 
 
What does the Black lesbian traveler look like? Where does she live? How much does she make? Is she married? Does she have kids?
 
The answers to these questions are largely unknown. 
 
“Most travel corporations are just beginning to understand that within LGBT, there are many subgroups, by gender, age, ethnicity and more,” explains David Paisley, Senior Research Director at Community Marketing, Inc. “Most complete research on the community as a whole. So while there is little research on Black lesbian travel trends, there is also little research on LGBT
[people] under 35, our elders, or the LGBT Latino or Asian communities [as well].” 
 
Last year, Community Marketing Inc., a leading LGBT marketing agency, released its 17th annual gay and lesbian tourism report for 2012, providing insight into leisure and business travel trends. While the report did not specifically study Black LGBT travel tendencies, it did give us a glimpse at lesbians in general.  The research found that for the majority of lesbians (58%) traveling to their most recent vacation destination was for rest and relaxation. Thirty percent traveled most recently to visit friends or family. The report also revealed that forty percent of all lesbians travel for business.
 
But travel trends in the African American community suggest that the broad-based LGBT findings might not apply specifically to Black lesbians and their unique needs.