UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS, GENDER, AND LIFE STAGE ON THE
LEISURE-TRAVEL BEHAVIORS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
Cynthia L. Willming, California State University Chico
Stephen C. Anderson, University of Florida Stephen M.
Holland, University of Florida
Introduction
The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA, 2001) reports that leisure travel is a commonly shared
experience for much of the U.S. population. In 2000, 75 percent of U.S.-domestic travelers reported taking leisurerelated trips (TIA, 2001). Of these travelers who are African American, 64 percent traveled for leisure. While leisure
travelers are similar in many ways, researchers have found that socio-structural factors such as social class, gender,
and life stage influence leisure-travel behaviors (Deem, 1996; Graburn, 1983; Yiannakis & Gibson, 1992). Yet, no
previous work has examined the influence of socio-structural factors on the leisure-travel behaviors of African
Americans. In fact, only a small number of studies have identified the leisure-travel behaviors or preferences of
African Americans (Goodrich, 1985; Philipp, 1993, 1994; TIA, 1996).
Given this lack of research on race and leisure travel, no definitive explanation of the factors that influence the
leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans is available. This absence of research is challenging because racial and
ethnic populations in the U.S. are continually growing and at present our understanding of their travel behaviors is
minimal. Currently, racial and ethnic groups represent 26% of the U.S. population; however, by 2050 racial and
ethnic populations are predicted to increase to 47% whereas the European American population will decrease to
53% (United States Bureau of the Census, 1999). In the next 10 years, the African American population is expected
to increase from 13% to 20% (U.S.B.C., 1999). Because of this population trend, investigating the factors that
influence the leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans will become progressively more significant and justifies
scholarly attention.
Perhaps researchers have overlooked the African American population because of its smaller numbers compared
to European Americans, or because researchers have failed to consider the travel-spending power of African
Americans, or have assumed that African Americans share similar values, attitudes, and preferences with European
Americans. Consequently, homogenizing the values, attitudes, and preferences of racial and ethnic groups tends to
ignore the heterogeneity or differences within these groups (Floyd, 1998; Hutchison, 1988). Hence, by focusing on
the factors that influence travel behaviors we might increase the understanding of the variations that exist between
the leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans. The purpose of this study was to identify the leisure-travel
behaviors of African Americans and to examine the extent to which social class, gender, and life stage (i.e. sociostructural factors) influence the leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans.
Methods
A stratified random sample of 800 African American men and women who had (1) attended or graduated from
the University of Florida, (2) traveled for leisure within the past two years at least 100 miles one way, and (3) stayed
at least 24 hours overnight, qualified for the study. Using a modified Dillman (1978) approach, a fixed-choice
questionnaire was mailed to respondents during the spring of 2001. Respondents were asked about their leisuretravel behaviors and socio-demographic information. Three weeks after the questionnaire was mailed, a follow-up
postcard emphasizing the importance of the survey was mailed to non-respondents. Of the 800 questionnaires
initially mailed, 176 were returned, although 23 were ineligible because of incorrect addresses, 5 were ineligible
because the respondents were not African American, and 17 were ineligible because of incomplete responses. The 28
respondents who had incorrect addresses and were not African American decreased the sample size from 800 to 772.
Out of 772, a total of 131 eligible questionnaires were included in the study - response rate of 17 percent. The
relatively low response rate might be attributed in part to the fact that a mail survey was used. Studies using face-toface or telephone surveys with African American groups have experienced considerably higher response rates than
studies using mail surveys (Wicks & Norman, 1996). Items were measured using a 4 point Likert scale ranging from
1 = never to 4 = always. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the leisure-travel behaviors of African
Americans. T-tests were used to determine if differences existed between the leisure-travel behaviors of African
Americans by life stage and gender and one-way ANOVAs were used to determine if differences existed between
the leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans by social class (i.e., income and education). If significant
differences were found using one-way ANOVAs, then the Scheffe test was used to determine exactly which groups
were significantly different from the others. Forty-seven percent of the respondents were aged between 17 - 45 (early
adulthood) and 47% between 46 - 65 (middle adulthood). About 43% were male and 57% were female. Forty-seven
percent of the respondents had a family income above $85,000, 33% had a family income between $55,000 to
$84,999, and 16% had family incomes below $54,999. Almost half (44%) of the African Americans in the study had
completed a masters degree and had some work on an Ed. D., Ph.D., J.D., or M.D., 29% had a bachelors degree and
some graduate work, and 25% had an Ed. D., Ph.D., J.D., or M.D. Over 80% of the respondents resided in the
Southeastern region (Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) of the U.S.
Results
African Americans most often used automobiles (47%, x = 2.80) and airplanes (48%, x = 2.66) during their
leisure travel, but almost never traveled by bus (70%, x = 1.15), city bus (62%, x = 1.30) or train (57%, x = 1.30).
They stayed in hotels/motels (63%, x = 3.05) the most often, but almost never spent the night in bed and breakfasts
(60%, x = 1.30) and recreational vehicles/tents (78%, x = 1.02). African Americans dined at sit-down restaurants the
most often (73%, x = 2.95) and sometimes dined at cafeterias (59%, x = 1.95), fast-food restaurants (57%, x = 2.40),
and hotel/motel restaurants (57%, x = 2.22). Shopping (95%, x = 2.91) registered the highest rate of participation
among African Americans, but they almost never participated in hunting (82%, x = 1.08), camping (73%, x = 1.14),
or skiing (71%, x = 1.28) during their leisure travel. The results of one-way ANOVAs and t-tests indicated that the
relationships between types of transportation and accommodations by education, gender, and life stage were not
significant, although the Scheffe test showed significant relationships between use of airplanes (p < .01), resorts (p <
.01), and condos/timeshares (p < .05) by income. Higher-income African Americans are more likely than lowerincome African Americans to use airplanes, resorts, and condos/timeshares during their leisure travel. In terms of
African Americans' use of food-service facilities, no significant differences were found by gender but there were
significant differences between use of hotel/motel restaurants by education (p < .001), income (p < .05), and life
stage (p < .05). African Americans with higher levels of education and income are more likely than African
Americans with lower levels of education and income to dine at hotel/motel restaurants during their leisure travel.
African Americans in middle adulthood are more likely than African Americans in early adulthood to use
hotel/motel restaurants. Specific to participation in activities, significant differences were found between mostly
black festivals (p < .05), tennis/golf (p < .001), water sports (p < .05), and skiing (p < .01) by education. African
Americans with middle levels of education are more likely than African Americans with lower levels of education to
attend mostly black festivals. African Americans with lower and higher levels of education are more likely than
African Americans with middle levels of education to participate in tennis/golf. Specific to water sports, African
Americans with higher levels of education are more likely than African Americans with lower levels of education to
participate in water sports. Similarly, African Americans with higher levels of education are more likely than African
Americans with lower and middle levels of education to participate in skiing. There were significant differences
between African Americans' participation rates at museums/historic places (p < .01), mostly white festivals (p <
.030), tennis/golf (p < .001), and water sports p < .05) by income. Higher income African Americans are more likely
than middle income African Americans to participate at museums/historic places and mostly white festivals. African
Americans with higher incomes are more likely than lower and middle income African Americans to participate in
tennis/golf. Higher income African Americans are more likely than lower income African Americans to participate
in water sports. Significant differences were found between participation in shopping (p < .01), religious events (p <
.01), nightlife or dancing (p < .05), and fishing (p < .01) by gender. Women are more likely than men to shop and
attend religious events during their leisure travel whereas men are more likely than women to participate in
dancing/nightlife and fishing. Finally, there were significant differences between participation at amusement parks
(p < .01), museums/historic places (p < 01), mostly black festivals (p< .05), and mostly white festivals (p < .01) by
life stage. Early adulthood African Americans are more likely than middle adulthood African Americans to attend
amusement parks. Middle adulthood African Americans are more likely than early adulthood African Americans to
attend museums/ historic places, mostly black festivals, and mostly white festivals.
Discussion
This study illustrates that college-educated affluent African Americans are active leisure travelers who utilize
various segments of the travel and tourism industry. The findings of this study are in keeping with the results from
the Minority Travel Report conducted by TIA (1996). Likewise, the travel behaviors of the general population are
similar to African Americans, although differences do exist. Unlike whites, African Americans in this study rarely
participated in skiing, camping, or hunting during their leisure travel. This finding coincides with the leisure
behavior literature where African Americans tend to have lower participation rates in outdoor-recreation activities
than do whites (Washburne, 1978). When examining the influence of education, income, gender, and life stage on
the leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans, the researcher found that all of the variables in this study showed
some degree of significance. Income showed the strongest predictive capabilities of the leisure-travel behaviors of
African Americans. Stage in the lifespan seemed to indicate that as age increases, African Americans are more likely
to engage in educationally based activities than regular tourist attractions during their leisure travel. Gender was
useful in understanding African Americans' participation in certain activities during their leisure travel. To some
degree, socio-structural factors do affect the leisure-travel behaviors of African Americans. Recognizing that the
response rate of this study is relatively low, the findings should be interpreted with caution and should only be
generalized to other college educated, affluent African Americans who reside in the Southeastern region of the U.S.
Despite this, the findings do shed some light on a population that is largely under researched in the travel-behavior
literature.
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Cynthia L. Willming, Department of Recreation and Parks Management, California State University Chico, Tehama
101, Chico, CA 95929-0560, U.S.A.; Phone: (530) 898-5211; E-mail: cwillming@csuchico.edu
ABSTRACTS
of Papers Presented at the Tenth
Canadian Congress on Leisure Research
May 22-25,2002
Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Abstracts compiled and edited by
Edgar L. Jackson
CCLR-10 Programme Committee
Karen Fox
Ed Jackson
Gordon Walker
Copyright © 2002 Canadian Association for
The Canadian Congress on Leisure Research
is held under the auspices of the Canadian Association
for Leisure Studies
Le congres canadien de la recherche en loisir
Se tient sous les auspices de L'association canadienne
d'etudes en loisir
BOARD OF DIRECTORS / CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION
1999 - 2002
President / President
Susan Markham-Starr
Acadia University
Past President / President-sortant
Edgar L. Jackson
University of Alberta
Treasurer / Tresorier
Robert Soubrier
Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres
Secretary / Secretaire
Linda Caldwell
Pennsylvania State University
Directors / Directeurs
Wendy Frisby, University of British Columbia
Tom Hinch, University of Alberta
Peggy Hutchison, Brock University
Jennifer Mactavish, University of Manitoba
Lisa Ostiguy, Concordia University
Stephane Perrault, Universite du Quebec d Trois-Rivieres
Jerry Singleton, Dalhousie University
Bryan Smale, University of Waterloo
Paul Wilkinson, York University