Survey underscores importance of Black tourism to region
Black travelers spent an average of $810.44 per trip to the region in 2019, according to a survey.
A new study sponsored in part by the Virginia Tourism Corp. now quantifies the value of Black visitors to Hampton Roads.
Black travelers spent an average of $810.44 per trip to the region in 2019, according to a survey of 4,800 people conducted by the MMGY Global marketing firm. Still, Black residents and industry professionals say even more can be done to highlight the region’s diverse culture and make sure Black travelers feel welcome in Hampton Roads.
“There’s plenty of room for all of us to grow and to exist,” said Phyllis Terrell, director of communications for the Fort Monroe Authority and a member of the Virginia Tourism Commission’s advisory group for diversity.
Black travelers in Hampton Roads spend most (40%) of their trip money on transportation, according to the survey. Other top expense categories include lodging (27%),
food and drink (11%) shopping (10%) and entertainment (8%).
Black travelers spent $109.4 billion on U.S. domestic travel in 2019, according to the survey. The spending was generated from 458 million stays, which represented around 13% of the total U.S. leisure travel market. Travel groups spent an average of $600 on each stay.
“We have long suspected the amount that U.S. Black travelers spend on leisure travel was undervalued,” Martinique Lewis, president of the Black Travel Alliance advocacy group, said in a news release. “So, it is great to get confirmation through these two reports as a part of the Black traveler study.”
Terrell said something she thinks Black travelers like to see, and something that she has advocated for at Fort Monroe, is having their complete, unfiltered stories told. For example, she referenced the fort’s involvement in the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans to North America in 1619.
She also praised the promotion of Hampton Roads culture through events like Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water music festival. The event, which was organized by the singer and producer, drew 35,000 people to the Oceanfront in 2019 before the pandemic canceled the 2020 festival.
“I think those success stories are important to share,” Terrell said.
The festival is an example of how cities and stakeholders can improve when booking events Black travelers might be interested in attending, said Jarrell Williams. Williams, through his company Nomarama, hosts food events that spotlight underrepresented and hidden culinary talent in Hampton Roads. Though Williams noted that he loves Pharrell and what he’s done for the region, he said it feels like you sometimes need that level of influence to create positive changes.
“For years, people have locally been trying to push the envelope to do more creative things and we keep getting shut down,” Williams said.
Williams said he was encouraged that cities like Norfolk were beginning to embrace more diverse and creative events, artists and chefs. He also liked that the region was beginning to market itself as a whole to the outside under the 757 banner.
“I think the area means well,” he said. “I love it here.”
You are not setting yourself up for success by maintaining a busy schedule and spending every moment thinking about your business. Turning this
“always-on” mentality around, especially at the start of a new year, may seem daunting. However, making a few tweaks now will set you on the right path. breaks, it ultimately drives my productivity by allowing my that are due or require your immediate attention first, mind to wander and reset. Whether it’s a short walk followed by the tasks that would be nice to complete around the block to embrace the sunshine or taking a few today, and lastly, those that could be delegated or can moments to play with my dog, not only do I feel energized be completed another day. and refreshed, but I’ve also had a chance to step back and see the bigger picture.
1. Walking, then talking
You must physically separate yourself from your space to give yourself both a mental and physical break from your to-do list. When I take these
2. Scheduling for success
Being completely focused on a singular task or project is vital for increasing productivity. At the start of every week, jot down your top professional and personal tasks and goals. Begin by narrowing down the most important tasks
3. Delegating, delegating, and more delegating
While your dream team may not be built overnight, it starts with a foundation of trust. Without it, you will never really be able to let go, and micromanaging remotely will be a trait you might not be able to shake off. As a leader, it’s important to trust your team, and as a business owner, it’ s important to delegate.
Nothing sparks procrastination quite like a to-do list of financial tasks. Sometimes the only thing scarier than making a financial choice in the first place is making the WRONG choice, which can happen when you don’t totally understand what you’re doing. In that sense, the default — standing pat — is often easiest.
Tackling money-related chores can be difficult even for those of us who write about this stuff for a living. The mere mention of rolling over old 401(k)s elicited eyerolls from a few of my colleagues in a recent video meeting. But delaying these tasks can cost you a lot in the long run, like if you’re paying fees on the bank account or credit card you plan to switch, or you’re delaying opening an investment account and missing out on possible gains.
Thankfully, you can trick yourself into productivity by rethinking how you approach your financial to-do list.
Start with your ‘why.’
“Giving yourself a 10-item to-do list of tasks you won’t enjoy is the perfect recipe for procrastination,” Meera Meyer, a financial planner in Boulder, Colorado, said in an email. Meyer has her clients review their financial goals, then consider why an item is on their to-do list in the first place. Cross-checking your goals with your list may inspire you to keep that list short.
This exercise can also help you prioritize the remaining tasks, so you know exactly where to get started.
Divide big tasks into small bites.
A big, vague goal is a surefire path to inaction. But when you break that goal down into pieces, it begins to feel doable. Even a tiny step is progress.
“Sometimes, just downloading that initial statement is the jolt you need to get on track,” Meyer said. “A lot of the time, once you’ve downloaded that statement, you realize that you might as well keep on going through as much of the process as you can.”
Lauren Martin of Portland, Oregon, describes herself as a diligent saver, and that left her with a good problem to have: what to do with additional savings once she fully funded her emergency account. She set a goal of opening her first taxable brokerage account, but she found the prospect of taking that first step toward investing to be daunting.
“It seemed like it was for other people, like wealthy people or day traders,” she says. “It was still a couple months before I actually went through with it because the process seemed intimidating.”
Learning more about how to open and fund a brokerage account, as well as understanding any tax implications of selling investments, helped Martin feel ready to take action. To her surprise, she realized how little time each step took.
“It was super easy,” she says. “I built it up to be this crazy complicated thing. It took me maybe 10 minutes to open the account.”
Do the right kind of research.
Research and comparison shopping are a big part of making a financial decision and can help you feel confident in your choices. But eventually, the research must end and the action must begin. If you feel stuck, here are some ways to move forward:
Identify where you lack knowledge. You may be afraid to make a move because you have unanswered questions. List your knowledge gaps and start finding answers. Articles from reputable sources can help, as can talking to experts like a financial adviser.
Shop around, but within a limited scope. If you’re seeking a new financial product like a bank account or credit card, comparison websites and other resources can help you weigh contenders. Be careful, though. It can be easy to get trapped in this phase, paralyzed by the overwhelming number of products on the market. Limit yourself to a handful of options.
When in doubt, ask for help. Sometimes picking up the phone can save you hours of searching online to identify the steps you need to take. When Matt Iadone of Boston decided to roll over an old 401(k) into a new account, he hesitated because he didn’t know how to begin. He called the account providers and got the forms he needed to fill out. “It was actually a fairly simple process,” he says. “Once I learned the steps, accomplishing the goal was easy.”
Hold yourself accountable.
You’ve prioritized your goals, picked the one to tackle first and broken it down into small tasks. Now, assign deadlines and set calendar reminders to nudge you along the way. It may help to work with an accountability buddy — whether that’s someone you share expenses with, like a partner or roommate, or a friend who’s working toward their own goals.
Regular check-ins with your buddy can encourage you to get stuff done. You may also turn to a financial planner or coach who can assist you in crossing items off your list. The important thing is to get started.
“Don’t put off things that are going to be important to getting your financial future on track, because time is money,” Martin says.