Black-Owned Agencies in the U.S. Carve a Successful Niche in African Tourism
Skift Take
Henderson Travel, a black-owned agency founded back in the Civil Rights era, pioneered roots travel to Africa. Its continued success is a testament not just to the popularity of genealogical tourism, but a booming African-American travel market.
When Henderson Travel Service started operations in 1955, African Americans faced huge travel obstacles and genealogical tours to Africa were unheard of.
The agency, which led African “roots” tours even before Alex Haley’s book and TV mini-series sparked the trend back in the 1970s, is still going strong in the midst of today’s booming interest in ancestry. Another factor is a growing African American tourism market that accounted for $63 billion in spending in 2018, up from $48 billion in 2010, according to a study from Mandala Research.
“I had planned on semi-retiring last year, but I kept getting all these requests for travel to Africa, so I’m still at it,” said Gaynelle Henderson Baily, owner of Henderson Travel and daughter of founders Freddye and Jake Henderson. Henderson Baily now works from home but also maintains an office in Silver Springs, Maryland, with a staff of outside sales advisors. The agency claims to be the first black-owned, fully appointed tra
