Long before Black travel became a mainstream conversation in tourism, people were building the communities, businesses, stories, and opportunities that helped us see the world differently. They were creating spaces for us to find one another, working with destinations to bring more of us into the room, documenting the places and histories worth knowing, and showing travelers where to go and who to trust when they get there.
This category recognizes the voices behind that work. They aren’t necessarily the people you’ll see dominating your feed. They’re the people whose meetings lead to partnerships, whose communities become trusted resources, whose stories make us book the flight, and whose work creates a ripple effect far beyond their own platforms.
From building a global tribe of more than 35,000 travelers to creating new opportunities for Black travel professionals and telling stories that make us look at destinations with fresh eyes, this year’s honorees remind us that influence isn’t always about being the loudest voice in the room. Sometimes, it’s about building the room, giving people a reason to enter it, and making sure they have somewhere to go once they’re there.
The voices shaping travel extend far beyond this list. Explore the full 2026 Travel Noire Awards.
Anita Moreau (Founder and CEO, Black Travel Summit)
Anita Moreau may not always be the person getting the most attention, but her work has helped build the infrastructure behind some of the most important conversations in Black travel. As founder and CEO of Black Travel Summit, Moreau brings together travel professionals, entrepreneurs, creators, tourism boards, and hospitality brands to exchange ideas, build relationships, and create opportunities that extend well beyond the annual summit.
The work is part convening, part business development, and part community building. Moreau has helped create a space where Black travel professionals can find one another, connect with destinations and brands, and turn relationships into real opportunities to grow their businesses and careers.
Her influence isn’t measured by how often she appears in the spotlight. It’s in how many more people have a seat at the table because she helped build it.
Danielle Williams (Founder, Melanin Base Camp)
Danielle Williams has spent more than a decade making room for Black travelers and adventurers in the outdoors. Through Melanin Base Camp and Diversify Outdoors, she has challenged the narrow image of who belongs outside while building community for people who want to hike, climb, camp, skydive, and explore.
Williams brings a personal understanding of adventure to that work. A former Army paratrooper and co-founder of Team Blackstar Skydivers, she has made extreme sports part of the conversation around outdoor representation, showing that Black participation doesn’t stop at a national park trailhead.
She has helped make the outdoors a place where Black travelers can find community, test their limits, and see what’s possible.
Evita Robinson (Founder, NOMADNESS Travel Tribe)
In Black travel, few names carry the same history as Evita Robinson. In 2011, she founded NOMADNESS Travel Tribe and built a community that would become a trusted compass for travelers of color looking for places to go, people to meet, and experiences worth having. Today, that community has grown to nearly 40,000 members worldwide.
Robinson didn’t stop at creating a digital community. NOMADNESS has organized domestic and international trips, partnered with tourism brands and destinations, and launched NOMADNESS Fest, creating spaces where travelers, creators, tour operators, and tourism professionals of color can connect. Her work has also expanded into travel storytelling, including Emmy-winning work as a host.
For more than a decade, Robinson has helped Black travelers move through the world with more information, confidence, and community. The tribe she built remains a compass for people figuring out where to go next.
Kévi Donat (Founder, Le Paris Noir)
Paris has long been a dream destination for Black travelers, but its Black history isn’t always part of the itinerary. Kévi Donat is changing that. Since founding Le Paris Noir in 2013, the Martinique-born Paris guide has led walking tours that trace the presence and contributions of people of African and Caribbean descent throughout the French capital.
The idea began with a question Donat heard repeatedly from visitors: Why are there so many Black people in Paris? His answer became an invitation to look deeper. Le Paris Noir explores the city’s connections to Africa and the Caribbean, French colonial history, and the Black American writers and artists who found community and refuge in Paris.
Donat’s work has grown into a broader body of cultural storytelling, including a book and podcast, but the walking tour remains at its heart. For travelers who already know the Paris of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine, Le Paris Noir offers another history to walk through.
Nneya Richards (Journalist + Editor)
Travel inspiration only gets us so far without good storytelling. Nneya Richards brings the context. As a journalist and editor covering travel, lifestyle, luxury, global mobility, and Black culture, Richards approaches travel through both the destination and the story surrounding it.
Her work asks readers to look closer: Who’s telling this story? Whose experience is being centered? Who gets left out? She brings that same curiosity to the destinations themselves, digging into the people, history, and culture that give a place its meaning. The result is travel journalism that offers context alongside the recommendation.
Richards understands that the right story can change what we notice, what we question, and how we understand a destination.
Want to know who else is moving the culture forward? Explore the full 2026 Travel Noire Awards honoree list.
