Paris Tourist Office Explores Black History with Entrée to Black Paris

PARIS - March 18, 2021 - PRLog -- In partnership with the Paris Tourist Office, Entrée to Black Paris presented a live, virtual walking tour of black history to viewers across the globe.

Entrée to Black Paris (ETBP)—a for-profit travel business that specializes in Afrocentric walks and activities in the City of Light, and the Wells International Foundation—a U.S. non-profit organization that promotes travel and study abroad—have come together to present the Virtual Black Paris Experience.  This curated, online tour gives travelers a singular possibility to discover a side of Paris that most people have no idea exists.

During this period of restricted travel imposed by the pandemic, the live, virtual experience has proven to be a unique and satisfying alternative to traveling to the French capital.

Because European Union borders are largely closed to overseas travelers as a result of the pandemic, the tourist office has been diligently working to provide whatever support it can to its adherents whose livelihood depends on those absent travelers.  ETBP is one of them.

Having received enthusiastic responses from clients who booked the Virtual Black Paris Experience, ETBP co-owners Tom Reeves and Monique Y. Wells contacted the tourist office to suggest collaborating on a virtual walking tour.  The office accepted the proposal, and on Tuesday, March 16 at 4:00 p.m. Paris time, Wells gave a walk that was based on the Virtual Black Paris Experience.  The event, broadcast via Facebook Live, reached over 300 Facebook followers in real time.

During the walk, Wells and two representatives of the tourist office staff made their way through the Luxembourg Garden and out the southern gate.  They continued their trek in the direction of the Montparnasse district, ending the tour at the Carpeaux Fountain in the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs. The ~30-minute walk included three of the fifteen (15) stops that Wells presents during the full Virtual Black Paris Experience (https://u7367035.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=aEVMkS8Azq3...).

"We are pleased that the Paris Tourist Office decided to partner with us to introduce the Virtual Black Paris Experience to its vast audience.  Between the livestream and the recording, which has been posted on Facebook, over 5600 people from around the world have had a taste of the Experience thus far. The response was overwhelmingly positive!" said Wells.

The Paris Tourist Office has posted the video of the March 16 tour on its Facebook page at the following link:  https://fb.watch/4i7ELFPEQt/ (https://u7367035.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=aEVMkS8Azq3...).

Since 1999, Entrée to Black Paris has provided tours for independent travelers, private groups, and students of study abroad programs who travel to Paris to learn about the about the history and culture of African Americans and the larger African diaspora in the City of Light.