Today’s Black travelers are standing on the shoulders of giants. David Jackson is on a mission to make sure these hidden heroes finally get their stories told.

After spending most of his career in hospitality, meetings and destination management, David answered the call to join some colleagues in resurrecting the historic Green Book, a segregation-era resource for Black travelers. David visits the podcast to discuss how Black travel pioneers made history, why their stories matter today and how modern travelers can experience their legacy.

David shares what he and his colleagues are doing to preserve and grow the Green Book. He also discusses ways that tour operators and destination managers can tap into the power of the Green Book to deliver cultural travel experiences that will benefit both travelers and the communities they visit. Plus, we have news about a decrease in travel spending; a road tip about using music to liven up your motorcoach trips; and a Hot Minute about the worst part of air travel in 2025.

David had lots of great insights about how telling stories from travel’s past can impact people’s future. Here’s what he had to say about the way cataloging Black travel sites could revitalize communities:

“It represents a fresh start. It’s like manna from heaven. You’re saying you can now promote us to a national audience, and folks that are coming into town that didn’t even know we existed can extend their trip or come to the area because of us…. This is a new day. This is a new revenue stream. We have the assets. Now we can promote our destination that has been under served.”

Plus, he had insightful thoughts on:

Learn more about The Green Book Experience at greenbookexperience.com.

Follow the Green Book Experience on Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Follow David Jackson on LinkedIn.

Get free resources for faith-based group travel at Going On Faith.

Discover more episodes of Gather and Go.

1:30 — Travel News: Americans are spending less on travel

2:46 — Road Tip: Liven up your road time with music games

8:38 — A free resource for faith-based travel planners

14:41 — How David Jackson found a new calling late in his career

18:13 — The unsung heroes who paved the way for Black travel

23:58 — Building a catalog of cultural travel sites

27:17 — Unearthing Green Book sites in 2025

29:04 — Partnering with other cultural tourism organizations

31:44 — How a focus on cultural tourism can impact marginalized communities

33:21 — How to find Black travel experiences for your groups

38:45 — How Brent finds great young employees

47:55 — Hot Minute: The worst thing about air travel in 2025

See the full interview with David, including content not in the regular episode, on our YouTube channel.

Thanks to our sponsor Louisville Tourism for making this episode possible. Learn more about group travel to the Bourbon City at gotolouisville.com/travel-professionals.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.