The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change

(CNN) -- While it's not the only time to visit African-American historical sites, February -- Black History Month -- has become a popular month for travelers to mix in a little learning with their fun.

According to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Association, one of the fastest growing markets in the travel industry is "ethnic" or "cultural" travel -- especially popular among African Americans. Many tourism boards produced "black heritage" tours and brochures to facilitate the burgeoning industry.

Now, a new book has been published as a guidebook to black America, "The African-American Travel Guide" (Hunter Publishing, 1997).

"(It) focuses on African-American sites, culture, history, events that happened around the United States and Canada," said the book's author, Wayne Robinson. "There's a lot of African-American history in Canada because during slavery, we escaped to Canada."

Some of the places listed in the book:

• The Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot
• The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta
• The George Washington Carver Museum at the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Alabama, honoring the scientist who discovered the many uses of the peanut
• Sylvia's Soul Food Restaurant in New York, a popular Harlem stop for U.S. and international travelers

"The travel industry is finding that people from all over the world are fascinated with African-American culture," said Robinson, "particularly Europeans and Asians who have been watching blacks for many years in the movies and through the news media."

Robinson is already working on his next book, which will include black cultural sites in Europe and the Caribbean.

Based on a report from CNN's Business and Travel and Beyond. The segment appears weekdays on Early Edition at 7 AM (ET) and on Morning News at 10 AM (ET).

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Related stories:

• CNN Special Section: Black History 1998
• CNN Books: The History of black women: Author seeks to broaden scope of history - February 16, 1998
• Celebrating Black History month on the Web - February 1997
• Destinations: King's Atlanta - January 1998
• Destinations: Elvis/Memphis (National Civil Rights Museum) - August 1997

Related sites:

• The African-American Travel Guide
• National Park Service
  • Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change
• National Civil Rights Museum
• Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site

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