UF study: black tourists report wide range of racial discrimination

October 1, 2001

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Leisure travel for college-educated African Americans is often tainted by the ordeal of racial discrimination as more than three out of four black tourists report biased treatment in sit-down restaurants, new University of Florida research finds.

Black tourists perceived racial discrimination the most when they stayed in hotels or motels, dined out, traveled by airplane or private vehicle, and participated in activities such as shopping, going to the beach, visiting amusement parks and attending predominantly white festivals, said Cynthia Willming, who did the research for her doctoral dissertation in UF’s recreation, parks and tourism department.

“It is disappointing to discover that when African Americans are traveling for pleasure, they are faced with the inescapable realities of racial discrimination,” Willming said. “As we move into the new millennium, the significance of race continues to be a very real issue for African Americans.”

The research is based on 131 mail surveys that were completed early this year by a random-stratified sample of black men and women who attended UF. The respondents’ ages ranged between 30 and 75, and 47 percent had a combined family income of $85,000 or more, she said.

All the study participants were college graduates and about half had advanced degrees, said Willming, who became a professor in the department of recreation and parks management at California State University in Chico this fall.

The survey broadly defined the term racial discrimination as any behavior that results in rejection, harassment, threats or verbal or physical attacks simply because of race, she said.

“These are college-educated, affluent African Americans who are perceiving discrimination during their leisure travel,” she said.

Seventy-seven percent (100 out of 131 people) said they perceived racial discrimination while eating at sit-down restaurants, compared with 51 percent at hotel/motel restaurants and 46 percent at fast-food restaurants, the survey showed.

One 46-year-old black man who participated in the survey recalled being approached by hotel security while viewing a sporting event on television in a restaurant game area. “I was asked to produce identification and a hotel key while this was verified by security,” he said. “No one else in the restaurant was approached or questioned.”

Shopping during leisure travel ranked second overall, with 72 percent of the respondents reporting discrimination, Willming said. And staying overnight in a motel or hotel was a close third, with 70 percent saying they experienced such treatment.

Some blacks in the survey reported being refused a hotel or motel room, while other said they were required to pay for their accommodations in advance.

Evelyn Foxx, first vice president of the Alachua County NAACP, said she hears many complaints of racial discrimination in travel, citing the case of a black woman whose motel linen wasn’t changed for three days. “Sometimes people call about treatment they received in restaurants,” she said. “They were in line first, but whites were seated before them.”

Stephen Anderson, professor and chairman in the department of recreation, parks and tourism, who supervised Willming’s work, said the research is overdue.

“There is a need for this study because it examines a population group that has received little attention in the tourism industry and it contributes to the body of knowledge on travel behavior and race,” he said.

Overall, black tourists rarely changed their travel plans because of such treatment, Willming said. The highest percentage that reported quitting a particular activity – 16 percent – were those eating meals in sit-down restaurants, she said.

“Normally, we would expect people to avoid situations that are very uncomfortable,” she said. “But perhaps African Americans don’t change their travel behaviors because there is no alternative; there may not be another hotel they can stay at or there may be only one rental car company in the area.”

Willming said the results have financial and moral implications for the travel industry. “Because African Americans have significant travel spending power, the tourism industry is losing money because of its discriminatory behavior,” she said. “Hopefully, if it becomes aware of these findings, it will take the necessary steps to eradicate such unfair treatment.”