The Travel Clan Aims to Show Black Travelers the Real Africa, on a Budget By Parker Diakite
T
he Travel Clan is a travel group dedicated to showing the gems of Africa on a budget. It was started by Caleb Mensa Bonsu and Kevin Ojo after they realized travel companies were neglecting African countries. “We decided to go on vacation a couple of years ago, and we realized that all the vacation packages were in North America, Europe, or Asia,” said Bonsu. “We started wondering, ‘where are the African countries?’’ So, instead of booking a vacation for a destination they weren’t interested in at the time, the two friends who grew up in Ghana decided to take a flight to São Tomé. “We didn’t have the intention to start a community, initially,” said Ojo. “But we realized the amount of interest we received on our trip that people hadn’t seen Africa in that light. A lot of people thought our pictures were taken in The Bahamas or somewhere in the Caribbean, but our flight to São Tomé was literally just an hour away from Ghana.” Both Bonsu and Ojo realized there was a huge gap in the market and they began to help people who reached out to them for advice on the countries to visit in Africa. The interest began to grow organically so the two friends launched The Travel Clan in 2018. “Clans are indigenous to Africa, so we decided to use a name that denotes that it’s African-centric,’ said Mensa. “The Travel Clan is like a tribal group
of people who are enthused about Africa.” With their travel group, the men work hard to provide authentic experiences that give their clients a day in the life of locals. You can expect to fully immerse yourself in the local culture through interactive activities and excursions. “Our goal is to portray the real Africa,” said Bonsu. “Due to the media coverage, people have this perception of Africa, but we want to show the world what it’s really like. We hang out and go to malls, for example, like any other country. We realized it’s up to us to tell our stories.’ “It’s up to us to change our narrative,” Ojo added. “What we’re doing is making sure it’s not just pictures of extreme poverty. There is that, but there is so much more beauty. Africa is not monolithic. There are so many cultures and experiences between the different countries […] People deserve to see the real Africa.” The ongoing health crisis put a damper on their plans for 2020, but they’re picking back up. Bonsu and Ojo are planning trips to Tanzania, São Tomé, and Ghana in 2021. Stay up-to-date with their latest by following them on Instagram. https://travelnoire.com/travel-clan-show-realafrica-on-a-budget
21 | ABA Publications | Africa TRAVEL | May 2021
Image credit: The Travel Clan
