For African American travel advisors like Lee Pettyjohn, Kareem George and Jesse Alexandre, Black History Month is not only about honoring the past but also about driving change, creating opportunities and inspiring the next generation. Through their unique perspectives, these trailblazers share their experiences, their efforts to foster inclusion and their unwavering commitment to ensuring that the travel industry becomes a more representative and equitable space for all.

Empowering African American Travel Advisors
“Black History Month means everything to me!” Lee Pettyjohn, Owner of Unlimited Destinations, LLC, a NEST affiliate, tells Recommend. “While we celebrate the history and the contributions that African Americans have made in this country throughout the month of February, as an African American, I continue to make my mark and remind the world of our contributions the remaining 11 months out of the year. I love that Black History Month dives deep into Black culture, music, art, and so much more.”

As an African American owner of a host agency, Pettyjohn says her role is “important in this industry that unfortunately is not as diverse as I would like. There are many events that I attend as an agency owner, and I often see extremely disproportionate numbers of diverse cultures there. My agency has at least 50 percent African American independent agents. I take great pride in my leadership role as an agency owner and want to help improve the disproportionate numbers in the industry across the board. I welcome every nationality and am thankful that we have multiple races within our agency. I hope to move the needle toward more diversity one qualified African American agent at a time, as well as continue to have open dialog about our experiences.”

And what challenges has she faced in the industry as an African American? She says she’s been fortunate to be able to connect and work with everyone, regardless of race throughout her 15 years in the travel industry, but does note that she finds it “unsettling to see so many challenges in this day and age that African Americans face where our Caucasian industry counterparts do not. I’ve witnessed discrimination in the visa and immigration process for sure. I also think there is limited access and visibility in the media with African American agents. I’m thankful for platforms and opportunities like this to openly share and express the need for more diversity. Representation is vitally important!”

Diversity in Travel
Kareem George, Owner of Culture Traveler, a boutique luxury travel service, reflects on the significance of Black History Month, his role as a leader in promoting diversity in travel and the importance of inspiring others to explore the world.

George tells Recommend that Black History Month “is a time to proudly reflect on and celebrate prominent African Americans that have improved our world, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as to learn about unsung heroes, such as Madam C. J. Walker.”

He notes that as a travel advisor and avid traveler, “I strive to reflect that travel is for everyone. Moreover, I hope my presence will encourage more African Americans to travel overall and for some to consider joining me in this dynamic industry.” He points out that one of the challenges he faces as an African American travel advisor that may differ from his peers “is a pressure I feel to overextend myself as a leader and volunteer to achieve greater diversity in the industry. As our industry becomes more diverse, which it has already, this will be less of a challenge.”

Reflecting on Heritage and Expanding Opportunities in Travel
Jesse Alexandre, Owner of Play Harder Travel, an Envoyage affiliate—a global network of independent travel agencies and advisors under The Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG)—says that beyond taking the time to celebrate leaders of the past, for him, Black History Month is a “time to recognize and reflect on the progress of our country. We [need to] take the opportunity to talk about race-related issues still occurring today. Like any other progress report, the score card is mixed with positive achievements and room to continue to improve. Taking the opportunity to do this as a country helps holds us accountable to doing what we can to improve the lives of and provide opportunities for not only African Americans, but minority communities as a whole.”

He goes on to say that he is very proud to be an African American travel advisor, or as he points out, “technically a Haitian American advisor.” He tells us that he doesn’t “see many Haitian Americans in my field and being able to positively represent my heritage is something I do with excitement and great pride. As for African Americans in general, having increased diversity helps the travel industry. Travel advisors are able to better provide service with experiences or properties that we have personally experienced. Broadening the travel portfolio as an industry is key to providing a complete offering to all clients that are looking for specific types of travel.”

Adding, “I am a big proponent of broadening the tent of agents/advisors in the industry. Agents of every race, gender and lifestyle help with elevating what we can provide to all clients, and this is something we should embrace. The more clients that can say they found what they were looking for with the help of an agent, the more it helps reinforce the need for and value of agents as a whole.”