8 Black Female Travel Influencers to Follow for Your First Trip in 2024
Jan 31, 2024 10:00AM ● By Boitumelo Masihleho
Travel is often celebrated as something that unites different groups of people, fosters cultural understanding, and improves global empathy. But while many travelers pat themselves on the back for being “compassionate global citizens,” this sentiment is often left at the border and delivered by an industry that lacks proper representation for Black and minority travelers. However, that hasn't stopped Black women from using their social media feeds to tell the world that travel is for everyone. Follow these 8 Black female travel influencers for your next travel adventure. These amazing women who are journalists, influencers, and creatives have used their skills and love of travel to build their online community and a voice for black female travelers. The inspiration for your next trip is just a scroll away.
Jessica Nabongo
Jessica Nambowa Damarie Nassaka Nabongo is a Ugandan-American travel blogger who gained public attention in 2019 after having visited every country in the world and claiming to be the first Black woman to have done so. She ended her groundbreaking journey in Seychelles. With 195 countries and 10 territories behind her, Jessica knows a thing or two about travel. Jessica’s TEDxDetroit talk, The World is Our Neighborhood was inspired by her commitment to increasing cultural awareness and encouraging people to think positively about other countries and the world at large so that we do not miss out on opportunities to have amazing experiences with our neighbors. You can still find her globetrotting and having new adventures on her Instagram, and you can read her bestselling book, Catch Me If You Can. In this inspiring travelogue, shares her journey around the globe with fascinating stories of adventure, culture, travel musts, and human connections.
Annette Richmond
Annette Richmond is an award-winning content creator, travel writer, public speaker, and advocate. Richmond is an immigrant who splits her time between Mexico and the United States. The creator of the fat-positive travel community Fat Girls Traveling is a native Californian. She blogs at From Annette with Love, she’s the creator of Fat Girls Traveling, and she is the Editor-in-Chief of the Fat Girls Guide. The Fat Girls Guide is the official blog for the Fat Girls Traveling movement. This fat-positive platform is dedicated to telling fat stories, highlighting fat bodies, and changing the landscape of travel, fashion, and lifestyle brands. She was also the winner of Wanderful’s Bessie Awards for Collaboration of the Year in 2019 for creating Fat Camp and is a former WITS Travel Creator + Brand Summit speaker.
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Charlotte Simpson
Charlotte Simpson is a Black influencer who loved traveling to all 50 states and a few countries with her late husband of 31 years, but when he sadly passed away, she didn’t want to let her passport go unused. After her husband’s passing, she took her journey to becoming a solo-world traveler, taking trips to Italy, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, and India to name a few. She wanted to inspire widows and other travelers to take that leap and start globetrotting. Along with promoting solo travel for both widows and older women, she also shines a light on ageism and discrimination against the elderly, and details the safety precautions she takes as well as the travel insurance she carries.
Oneika Raymond
Oneika is a travel writer who contributes her voice to Conde Nast Travel and has her blog, Oneika the Traveler. She frequently posts specifically about the Black experience abroad. Her niche is travel with her husband and their daughter. She gives her followers lots of tips about traveling, including how to pose for photos to traveling with her toddler. She has visited 115 countries on six continents. She is devoted to Black female travelers - she has keynoted at the Women in Travel Summit, at Women’s Travel Fest, and has been honored with a 2017 Voices of the Year (VOTY) award at BlogHer, one of the premier conferences for women in digital media. The new mom has visited over 115 countries six continents and hosts Travel Channel's One Bag and You're Out and Big City, Little Budget.
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Thobeka Mthembu
Thobeka Mthembu is from South Africa, but everyone calls her Thobi or Thobi Rose. She has always loved travel but her background is in media. She was a senior content producer for a production house called Afrokaans working on one of their productions. Thobi is a digital content creator and travelprenuer having started a company with her sister that focuses on connecting people within Africa. She focuses solely on Africa to change the narrative about traveling within Africa.
Ciara Johnson
After quitting her job in corporate America, Ciara Johnson set off not only to explore the world but also to share her journey. By capturing her experiences in words and photographs, Johnson intends to inspire others looking to do the same. She’s on a mission to empower women to seek meaningful experiences through travel. In this episode, Ciara shares her journey from cubicle to the world. Before Ciara left her 9-5 working in HR, she took 2 years to save up every penny she had before taking off around the world. In Panama, Ciara discovered her love for learning about different cultures and the thrill of cultural exchange. She decided to start her blog as a means to share the magic of travel with people and how it can be affordable and accessible.
Lee Litumbe
As the face and voice behind Spirited Pursuit, Lee Litumbe's mission is simple: she is in spirited pursuit of travel, adventure, and new cultural experiences. Based in Senegal, Litumbe stresses the beauty of Africa. As a self-taught photographer and storyteller, Lee uses photography to shape poignant narratives on cultural immersion; bringing fresh perspectives to lifestyle and travel experiences off-the-beaten-track. A Cameroonian by birth, an American by upbringing, and a Nomad at heart, Lee has a deep-rooted appreciation for a well-traveled and adventurous life. With every published story, her longing to experience and explore deeper into all that exists within the world is re-ignited.
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Farirai Sanyika
A former chemical engineer turned full-time traveler, Farirai Sanyika, aka Gophari, left her career working in the small industrial town of Secunda to chase her dreams of traveling across South Africa and sharing a love of travel with the world. Born in Zimbabwe and grown up in South Africa, where she still resides, Farirai Sanyika loves to travel to scenic destinations in Africa.
The travel blogger’s post-graduation trip to Mauritius sparked her travel obsession. While working and living in small industrial town of Secunda, Sanyika discovered the beauty of Mpumalanga and has since loved exploring South Africa. Through Gophari, Sanyika showcases South Africa, encouraging travelers to explore the country’s hidden gems. Now a certified South African travel specialist, she offers coaching on everything you need to plan the perfect trip and organizes group trips to African destinations for solo female travelers.
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She's an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content.
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