Highlighting the enormous potential for the travel industry, the 2nd Global Report on LGBT Tourism, published by UNWTO this year and the second to appear since 2012, examines the prospects and challenges facing LGBT travel.
The report was compiled together with the leading International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association and the IGLTA Foundation, both partners of ITB Berlin. In it the authors outline the positive developments in this market over recent years, as well as the obstacles still facing LGBT travellers in many countries. As part of its social responsibility strategy, ITB Berlin is committed to promoting LGBT acceptance in the tourism industry. The report lists numerous examples of companies and destinations which have become successfully involved in this market.
Among other things, the report examines the role of social media and apps, and their impact on the travel behaviour of LGBT travellers. They enable travellers to make contact with LGBT members at their destination before travelling, in order to get tips on where to go out for example. Whereas a few years ago LGBT tourism focused only on certain islands and regions, nowadays there is a much wider range of destinations, and more and more of them are making themselves available to this lucrative market. Emerging source markets such as China, India and Indonesia also feature prominently in the report. Although these countries are not among the most popular destinations for lesbians and gays, they have a rapidly growing population of young people and city-dwellers who are increasingly eager to travel to LGBT-friendly places.
To find out more from the UNWTO report please read on: http://newsroom.itb-berlin.de/en/news/huge-potential-travel-industry-2nd-unwto-lgbt-report-examines-outlook-gay-and-lesbian-travel
