Resilience in times of a Pandemic: Can LGBTQ+ travelers help the tourism industry recover?
This is a blog by Trove Associate Jane-Noela Braimah after attending the ITB Berlin 2022 Virtual Conference.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community from around the world gathered during last week’s ITB Berlin Conference to discuss the rising trends of LGBTQ+ tourists and travelers, as well as the impact of these trends on the travel industry post COVID.
David Paisley, Senior Research Director for agency Community Marketing & Insights (CMI), provided points on the motivations behind LGBTQ+ travel in the United States. These points included the need for queer people to seek out community and reconnect with their found families, especially where many would experience isolation, even in cases where they were in lockdown with their biological families. Points were also made on research revealing that members of the queer community were vaxxed, boosted and willing to show proof of evidence. The demographic of gay men in particular reveals the anticipation to return to an active travel lifestyle.
CMI research also reveals that many LGBTQ+ travelers in the United States have also stirred activity within the local tourism industry, visiting queer-friendly small town settlements and rural communities. While many are experiencing these types of travel scenes for the first time, David reveals that urban and international travel appear in the future of the many queer tourists prepared to meet to travel requirements. After an insightful brief on the transition of travel marketing from large scale queer events in society to smaller travel activities tailored to queer travelers, David closes out with a welcome to a panel discussion on the travel experience as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Panelists brought up interesting points on the external factors behind some of the travel trends we see in recent times. Representatives discussed the economics motivations of many countries that are now prioritizing queer travelers in their contingency plans to revive and sustain their tourism industries. The discussions wade into the advancement Columbian government in creating a more queer friendly travel destination for queer travelers. The LGBTQ+ positive strategies employed in Brussels was also explored with the Brussels representative. They discussed the presence of international queer people from LGBTQ+ hostile countries at their Pride events, as well as the provision of safe queer spaces in society through the partnerships of the government with the local community.
Representatives from Italy and Florida also discuss the change and evolution of the queer travel industry in their locations and amongst their LGBTQ+ members. They discussed the movements towards social sustainability and the recognition of the queer community as a new market demanding unique and targeted attention for the first time. She discusses the movement of international queer travelers in tourist groups and the plans made to host the IGLTA convention in Milano. The focus is especially centered on the economic prospects of their markets receiving a large influx of international consumers, who happen to be queer, as well as taking advantage of this influx and creating more LGBTQ+ tailored tourist attractions to maintain and retain them as international consumers in their market. The representative from Florida expanded on this fact, looking at the opportunities during the pandemic, where they remained open to leisure and corporate travelers. They also discussed the forward and progressive thinking of Tampa Bay and its longstanding hospitality to queer travelers.
The question arises, though, why haven’t destinations always prioritized marketing to and providing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ travelers? And why is this a priority only now?
In total, this event at ITB Berlin provided deep and unique insights on LGBTQ+ travelers and the importance of both marketing to and providing products for community members in hopes of creating safe spaces. Read more about our work in Visitor Experience Design at Trove and the work we do with destinations to target and develop experiences for travelers.