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African American
Travel Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, March 28-30
African
Americans: Africa's Tourism Mega Market in the
Americas
by Jerry W. Bird
The longer our magazine remains
on the cutting edge of travel to Africa from the USA, Canada
and the Caribbean, the more myself and colleagues appreciate
how vital the African American Market is to our success as
the Africa Travel Association's official magazine. David J.
Saunders, ATA's membership Chairman based in Washington, DC
expands on this timely topics, but first let me begin by
getting personal. It's a real eye opener, heart warmer and
soul lifter to visit Africa several times each year with my
many African Americans friends. What joy to share the thrill
as they discover their historic roots, explore exciting new
tourism destinations and enter an ever-expanding world of
business, investment and networking opportunities. The fact
that most of our readers and web site visitors are Travel
Agents and Tourism Professionals is a huge plus.
This means that the more they get
to know about Africa through our magazine and web site,
annual congresses, ecotourism symposia, ATA chapter seminars
and events, the greater Africa Travel Magazine's reach and
influence will be. One active, effective travel agent can
represent several thousand consumers -- that's what an
influential readership means. A key indicator is the
popularity of Africa Travel Magazine Online
(www.africa-ata.org) with page views soaring every month.
Combined with our print circulation, the mail boxes are
overflowing. It's truly a win, win situation.
Did you know?
The African American population in
the USA at last count was 34,658,190 representing over 12.3
% of the total.
Almost half (43%) are homeowners, and nearly one quarter
(23%) hold Bachelor's degrees or higher from US.
Universities. As consumers, African Americans spend over
$500 billion annually, or an average per household of
$23,442. Their purchases will include around $33 billion on
new automobiles and close to $4 billion on consumer
electronics.
African Americans are no longer rural; 85% live in urban
centers, mostly the top 20 metro areas. The African American
median age is 30, some 6 years younger than the total US
population.
Source: US Census
.
E-mail
for more background on Black
Buying Power in the USA.
Marketing
Travel in the New Millennium
The African American Mega
Market
Like
a great book has many "chapters" -- some large,
some small, local chapters are the heart and soul
of ATA. African Americans are the backbone of our
chapters in the USA. Jerry W. Bird, Editor
(see
below)
Black or
African-American Population for USA
United
States 34,658,190 (12.3%)
Northeast
6,099,881 11.4%
Midwest
6,499,733 10.1%
South
18,981,692 18.9%
West
3,076,884 4.9%
Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, Census 2000.\
African
American Buying Power
According to
The U.S. African American Market, a new research
report published by Packaged Facts, the buying
power of African Americans in the United States is
expected to increase nearly 30% to $682 billion in
the next 5 years. The report states that in the
African American population there are 14.1% more
women than men, and nearly half of the households
within this demographic are headed by women, giving
females a far more prominent role in consumer
decisions than women in other ethnic population
segments. In addition, there are 3.7 million
affluent African Americans who are projected to
have a combined buying power of $292.4 billion by
2006.
"Marketers
have identified significant successes in targeting
both the female and affluent segments of the
African American population," said Meg Hargreaves,
VP of Research Publishing for MarketResearch.com.
"Luxury car makers and food and beverage
manufacturers alike have focused their efforts on
these market segments given the overwhelming
influence they have in the market as a whole."
http://www.marketresearch.com/corporate/aboutus/Press
US CENUS
STATISTICS ON AFRICAN AMERICANS
http://www.lenzine.com/census/index.php
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Organization of
Africans in the Americas (OAA)
Description on : http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/6876/
Write: 1234 Mass Ave, NW, Suite C-1007
Washington, DC 20005, Tel: 202-638-1662
Fax: 202-638-1667
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