International LGBT2020 Homophobia Report released for IDAHO Day

New report reveals homophobic discrimination and violence is endemic in many countries around the world

- International LGBT2020 Homophobia Report reveals widespread homophobia, violence and harassment of LGBT people in countries all over the world

- Most LGBT people globally are not out at work due to fears of harassment and bullying

- Over half of LGBT people in most countries believe that there are issues of homophobia and transphobia in their own workplace

Sydney, Australia (OUTNOW) - May 16, 2013 -- Data released from the world's largest research program into the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has revealed the extent to which LGBT people suffer harassment, discrimination, refusal of goods and services and violence because of their sexuality. The LGBT2020 study measures these data on a global scale for the very first time.

The findings released in conjunction with IDAHO day (The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia http://www.dayagainsthomophobia.org) which is held annually on the 17 May, give the clearest picture to date about the widespread levels of harassment and discrimination that LGBT people face on a daily basis in countries right around the world.

The 'Out Now Global LGBT2020 Homophobia Report' research http://www.outnowconsulting.com/media/1332/Idaho-discrimination-report-global-V7.pdf was conducted by the worldʼs leading LGBT consulting firm Out Now Global as part of the 'Out Now Global LGBT2020 Study'. This groundbreaking project is the largest global research project into the lives of LGBT people that has ever been undertaken, and to date the LGBT2020 study has collected data in 12 languages from almost 100,000 LGBT respondents in 21 countries around the globe on a variety of topics, include workplace and discrimination issues. 

Countries sampled during 2012 for the LGBT2020 research report include: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay. (Those in bold are included in the report released by Out Now for 2013 IDAHO Day.)

The results highlight several key global trends for LGBT people among findings that are relatively consistent across the various countries tested, including the countries in the LGBT2020 study not included in this new report. These data reveal the prevalence of homophobia, which is still endemic and appears to be culturally ingrained in societies globally. 

The new 'Out Now Global LGBT2020 Homophobia Report' highlights that discrimination, harassment and violence is occurring to LGBT people because of their sexuality all over the world, and shows that even in the most progressive western countries not everyone who identifies as being either LGB or T is able to be completely 'out' or open about their sexuality either at work, with friends or with family.

The research also reveals that more than 50% of respondents tested believe there are problems of varying degrees of severity for LGBT people in their own workplace. 

While these findings highlight the extent of discrimination and harassment of LGBT people they may only reveal part of the problem. The research shows that even in a country as socially progressive as the Netherlands for example, the percentage of LGBT people who are able to be out to everyone at work (65%), with family (77%) and with their friends (83%) is not total showing that issues in coming out are real and affect interpersonal relationships across society. This ability to be 'out' drops to just 17% (at work), 21% (with family) and 26% (with friends) in Japan, where cultural norms make it far more 'unacceptable' for LGBT people to be open about their sexuality or gender identity. 

The new LGBT2020 homophobia figures reveal the true lack of visibility for LGBT people in society, particularly in the workplace, where even in a country as reportedly accepting as the Netherlands -  more than one in every three (35%) of all LGBT respondents feel that they are unable to completely be themselves with their colleagues at work. 

This lack of visibility because of reluctance amongst many LGBT people to come out about their sexuality or gender identity is explained by another finding of the research.

There is a very real threat that out and open LGBT people risk harassment, discrimination and violence - both verbal abuse and physical assaults - in the societies in which they live, all over the world due to their sexuality or gender identity. 

The 'Out Now Global LGBT2020 Homophobia Report' shows that there is a particular lack of visibility (known as 'being in the closet') for LGBT people globally which is especially prevalent in certain countries including Japan, Turkey, Mexico, France and Brazil. With fewer visible 'out' LGBT people in these countries the actual levels of homophobia could be far higher than reported as people who feel unable to be out are often adopting this tactic as part of a strategy to minimise homophobic and transphobic incidents against themselves. 

There is a strong correlation with how out people are in a particular country in their places of work, with how well they feel LGBT people generally are treated in the workplace, indicating that countries where people are less likely to be out at work are also those countries where LGBT respondents feel LGBT people in the workplace are treated poorly. 

Issues of homophobia and transphobia are not defined by levels of development within nations.

The findings of the new 'Out Now Global LGBT2020 Homophobia Report' show that countries such as the USA, UK, Canada, France and Germany (amongst others) all have significant cultural issues affecting how open LGBT people can be in all levels of society, and respondents from these countries also report worryingly high levels of harassment, violence and discrimination which they suffer because of their sexuality or gender identity.

In the USA for example, 59% of respondents believe that there are issues of concern to them regarding how LGBT people are currently treated while at work, which may go some way to explaining why only 44% of LGBT respondents from the USA are out to everyone in the workplace.

Similarly in the UK, only 52% of respondents said that they felt able to be 'out to everyone' at work, and 15% of respondents indicated that they had suffered harassment in the workplace during the past year.

It appears that no matter where LGBT people live in the world today, too many still run very real daily risks of suffering harassment, bullying, violence and intimidation solely on the basis of their sexual orientation.

Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now Global was keen to add context to the research. "The findings of this 'Out Now Global LGBT2020 Homophobia Report' show that we have a long way to go in achieving a society which is truly welcoming and accepting of sexual and gender diversity," Johnson said. "Out Now hopes this data goes some way to helping highlight the very real problems of homophobia and transphobia which many LGBT people encounter every day, in all parts of the world. Of course one of the most important things we say at Out Now is that averages mask diversity. There is no such thing as a 'typical' LGBT person. There are just individuals. At Out Now one of our touchstones is that 'LGBT' spells people. People around the world living diverse lives - yet all having at least one characteristic that unites them - being a member of the minority group within societies known as LGBT."

Joel Bedos from the IDAHO Committee said: "The Out Now Global LGBT2020 Study will no doubt provide renewed momentum for companies to increase their commitment to Human Rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Not only within their companies, but within the societies at large that they live and work in. By supporting local LGBT advocates who work every day to fight against stigma and discrimination, companies are proving vital in implementing a core component of their broader corporate social responsibility."




Media contact:
Darren Cooper, Out Now darren.cooper @ OutNowConsulting.com


About Out Now

http://www.outnowconsulting.com/media/1332/Idaho-discrimination-report-global-V7.pdf

Established in 1992, Out Now is the world's leading LGBT marketing organization and has for two decades been relied upon by many of the world's leading brands, organisations and tourism bodies for specialized gay and lesbian marketing insight and expertise. Services include research, training, strategy and communications. Out Now clients include IBM, Toyota, Citibank, German National Tourist Office, TUI, Lufthansa, Berlin Tourism Marketing, Vienna Tourist Board, Visit Manchester, Stockholm Visitors Board, Barclaycard, Barclays Bank and Lloyds TSB Banking Group.

About IDAHO

http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/about/

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to this issue.

It is not one centralised campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization's decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia is now celebrated in more than 100 countries, in all world regions and in places as diverse as Australia, Iran, Cameroon or Albania.

It has received official recognition from several States and such international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events. LGBTI organizations, governments, cities, human rights organizations, corporations and celebrities have all taken action on May 17th to:

• Draw media attention to the issue of homophobia and transphobia
• Organise events which mobilize public opinion
• Demand attention from policymakers and engage in lobbying activities
• Network with like-minded organizations and develop new partnerships, at home or beyond
• Mobilize existing constituencies and address new audiences

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands.

New Brazil LGBT2020 Report Released

World's Second Biggest LGBT Tourism Market Comes Out For World Travel Market Latin America

LGBT2020 Report on Brazil LGBT Tourism - 2013 Edition 

- Out Now Global LGBT2020 tourism spend reveals Brazil to be the second highest value LGBT tourism market globally
- Value of LGBT consumer travel in the region to be revealed at WTM Latin America by Out Now

São Paulo, Brazil (OUTNOW) - April 22, 2013 -- Brazil’s LGBT tourism market is worth USD$22.9 Billion, reveals Out Now’s LGBT2020 Study which will be discussed at WTM Latin America this week (23-25 April).

Brazil is now one of the leading inbound destinations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) tourists from around the world, with cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo ranking in the top 20 global destinations for LGBT travellers during 2013 (Data source: Out Now Global LGBT2020 Study), delegates at WTM Latin America will discover on April 25.

The new research - undertaken by the world's leading LGBT consulting firm Out Now Global http://www.OutNowConsulting.com - reveals for the first time that the value of Brazil’s own LGBT tourism market is USD$22.9 billion dollars. This figure is a significant percentage of the total annual global value of (LGBT) leisure travel spending, which is on course to reach a record USD$181 billion during 2013.

The new 'Brazil LGBT2020 Travel Report - 2013 Edition' - released today contains the findings from more than 2,000 Brazilian respondents to Out Now's LGBT2020 study.

Furthermore, Out Now will release additional LGBT2020 market data for six more countries across the Latin America region during a special LGBT education workshop at WTM Latin America WTMLatinamerica.com on April 25 in São Paulo, Brazil. An additional ten countries of new LGBT market data will also be released free to members of the Out Now Business Class program http://www.OutNowBusinessClass.com - the world's leading networking association to promote LGBT tourism.

The new report gives the clearest-ever picture of the immense scale and potential of Brazil’s LGBT tourism market.

With a per-capita annual travel spend of $2,583 Brazil’s nearly nine million LBGT people represent a large opportunity for companies and destinations willing to show their commitment to this market through appropriate staff training, effective tailored communications and the delivery of products and services that reflect the concerns of this growing tourism market.

The LGBT2020 research reveals that 79% of Brazilian respondents would either definitely, or probably choose to buy from a company that actively markets their products or services to LGBT customers.

84% of respondents said that a company sponsoring LGBT events or community groups would also either definitely, or probably motivate them to prefer that company's products or services.

Darren Cooper, Senior Consultant
Out Now Global

Training of staff to better understand the needs of LGBT people was also shown to be a strong motivating factor for Brazil’s LGBT population. 92% of all respondents said that effective LGBT-sensitive customer service delivered by well-trained staff can motivate them to prefer the products or services of that supplier.

Darren Cooper, Senior Consultant with Out Now, said: “Brazil’s LGBT population has revealed that there is much that can be done by companies looking to gain their attention, and positively motivate their product selection choices and brand loyalties through a range of strategic steps.

"Communications to this market are always most effective when they are tailored to speak directly whilst avoiding clichés and negative stereotypes - but the research also reveals that companies need to demonstrate product credibility, and this can best be achieved in tourism through staff training.

"LGBT people have grown weary of the number of destinations, hotels and airlines all claiming to be gay-friendly," Cooper said. "LGBT people do not experience tourism when they view an advertisement. Whether an LGBT person has a great holiday is directly correlated to how welcomed they feel when they stay with a hotel and visit a destination - and it is the tourism industry staff who serve them during their holiday who have the most direct bearing upon how well-respected LGBT people feel.”

The global LGBT tourism networking association ONBC - Out Now Business Class is exhibiting at a special LGBT pavilion (Stand E33) at WTM Latin America, the region's newest trade show by the world's leading event for the global tourism industry - World Travel Market.

All members of Out Now Business Class receive special LGBT sensitivity staff training in four languages to help tourism workers better understand how to meet the travel concerns of their LGBT customers.

CEO of Out Now Global, Ian Johnson, will be presenting the latest LGBT2020 research from Latin America at a special education Masterclass on world's best practices for LGBT tourism development.

That WTM workshop will include special presentations from the CEO of LGBT Confex http://www.LGBTConfex.com Ruben Sandoval on the Latin American LGBT market and Pawari http://www.pawari.pe by Viajes Pacifico of Peru.

Pawari is a dedicated LGBT tour operator serving clients from the region and LGBT Confex is the world's leading provider of specialist B2B and B2C conferences and exhibitions to reach LGBT people.

Copies of the 'Brazil LGBT2020 Travel Report - 2013' can be downloaded here. The data in this press release can be quoted freely provided mandatory data credit is included: "Data source: Out Now Global LGBT2020 Study http://www.outnowconsulting.com ."

Additional LGBT2020 research data will be released by Out Now on April 25 at WTM Latin America.

The Out Now Business Class LGBT pavilion is located at Stand E33 at WTM Latin America which takes place from April 23 - 25, 2013 at Transamerica Expo Center – São Paulo. The ONBC Masterclass workshop on global LGBT research and marketing best practices is presented on April 25 from 5pm in Conference Theatre 1.

About Out Now

Established in 1992, Out Now is the world's leading LGBT marketing organization and has for two decades been relied upon by many of the world's leading brands, organisations and tourism bodies for specialized gay and lesbian marketing insight and expertise. Services include research, training, strategy and communications. Out Now clients include IBM, Toyota, Citibank, German National Tourist Office, TUI, Lufthansa, Berlin Tourism Marketing, Vienna Tourist Board, Visit Manchester, Stockholm Visitors Board and Lloyds TSB Banking Group.

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands.

Travel Agents Board LGBT Confex

Travel Agents Get On Board New LGBT Confex Latin America Events



LGBT NEWS: Friday March 15, 2013

3rd International LGBT Business Expo

GUADALAJARA, JALISCO, MEXICO -- (OUT NOW) -- March 15, 2013 - The most important trade association for travel agents in Mexico has announced their support for the International LGBT Business Expo's Travel Show taking place in Guadalajara, Mexico in September this year.



The Asociación Mexicana de Agencia de Viajes, A.C. (AMAV) presided by Jorge Hernández Delgado, has joined forces with LGBT Confex - http://www.LGBTconfex.com - the leading organizer of conferences and exhibitions focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) market segment.



The LGBT market is made up of more than 20 million consumers across Latin America who spend each year more than USD$36 billion on travel. In Mexico alone LGBT travelers will account for more than USD$9 billion travel spending in 2013. (Data source: Out Now Global LGBT2020 Study - 2013 Report.)



AMAV was founded in 1945 and accounts for more than 2,000 travel agent members selling to customers right across Mexico. 



In announcing the support of this industry-leading representative association, the CEO of LGBT Confex, Ruben Sandoval, said his organization was pleased to enjoy the support of this industry leading organization.



"LGBT Confex works very hard to ensure that we deliver world-class quality business events which connect our delegates and exhibitors with education, networks and other resources to allow them to better understand and meet the needs of the LGBT consumer market," Sandoval said. "To gain the support of this leading association - who are leaders in the Mexico travel industry - is much appreciated by us and we will be working hard to help their members benefit from this connection with our events."



The latest LGBT2020 market research from Out Now http://www.outnowconsulting.com suggests that the decision to support the LGBT Confex travel show is a strategic one.

Latest figures from the LGBT2020 study show that in many markets around the world, around one in every four travel sales for hotels among gay and lesbian travelers is purchased through a travel agent - either online or at a retail store. In Mexico this figure is 23%.



According to Jorge Hernández Delgado, President of AMAV, the partnership with LGBT Confex and its events is a smart one for the association's members. 



Guadalajara, Mexico - September 5 - 7, 2013

"AMAV is committed to delivering the best for our members - and the continuing growth trend in global LGBT tourism markets is one that we know to be a very important one," Mr. Hernandez Delgado said. "With around 6% of all our members' customers being lesbian or gay it makes good business sense to support this market. It is also demonstrably the right thing for us to do to support equality for all people in Mexico in 2013."



CEO of Out Now, Ian Johnson, said that these new developments are a sign of the rapidly accelerating progress of change taking place in Latin America in relation to LGBT equality.

"Out Now tracks LGBT business and consumer data all across the world and the pace of change and integration taking place in countries such as Mexico and Brazil in the Latin America region is faster than any other single country has yet seen," Johnson said. "LGBT people are today more open about their sexual orientation than ever before and more people now know someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. As societies we are learning how to live amongst - and respect - the diversity that has always been there in our communities. Whereas once this was hidden it is now known - and people of all kinds can become more comfortable living in a more open society. The AMAV travel agents association of Mexico is an important part of a social and business wave of change that is good for their members - as well as for Mexican society generally."



The 3rd International LGBT Business Expo http://www.LGBTbusinessExpo.com and the International LGBT Travel Show are being held in Guadalajara, Mexico from September 5 - 7, 2013.

In 2013 LGBT Confex also manages the Out Now Business Class LGBT pavilions for exhibitors at World Travel Market events in São Paulo and in London.

Exhibitor, sponsor and delegate bookings are now open for all events.

For more information contact andres@lgbtconfex.com

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved, for the world, by Out Now - any unauthorised use is prohibited.  

Launch - visitBerlin pink pillow

LGBT NEWS: Monday March 11, 2013

visitBerlin launches new LGBT hotels collection - pink pillow - during ITB travel trade show in Berlin.

The city of Berlin has been a leader in the field of LGBT tourism market development for over ten years now.

Last week at the ITB travel trade show, Berlin Tourismus & Kongress raised the bar even higher - with the successful launch of their new LGBT targeted hotels collection - pink pillow.

Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now attended the launch and reports on how Berlin is demonstrating leadership in the area of LGBT tourism.

Join Out Now's Gay Market News on Facebook.

The pink pillow initiative

Three years ago I attended a workshop in Berlin as the guest of visitBerlin at which a small number of local hotels discussed the potential to create a tailored initiative for Berlin properties specifically geared to the needs of the LGBT travel market.

It was encouraging to see such joined-up thinking, as Out Now's LGBT2020 research program has shown that for a strong majority of LGBT travellers, their number one concern is 'will I feel genuinely welcomed' during their holidays.

In the case of hotels, the key determinant to this is the staff working at the hotels.

As a result of these initial discussions a comprehensive consultation and development process was commenced, led by Jan Schmitz of visitBerlin and Philip Ibrahim of Accor Hotels.

A project takes shape

During the past three years a number of things happened. It was decided that for an LGBT collection to make sense membership had to mean something.

There are already far too many 'tick-box' LGBT targeted hotel listings websites in the marketplace.

The pink pillow collection has at its centre five key aspects which participating hotels commit to:

• all guests are treated with same courtesy, dignity and respect;
• staff at the hotel contribute actively in LGBT social projects;
• create a work environment of respect and tolerance;
• offer their guests information about the LGBT scene; and
• participate in visitBerlin’s semi-annual LGBT information days.

Market Day - Berlin February 2013

Burkhard Kieker, CEO, visitBerlin

It is always a sign of likely success organisationally when a CEO participates in an LGBT-oriented project such as pink pillow.

On Monday February 18, Burkhard Kieker, visitBerlin CEO, was the Keynote speaker at the Market Day for hotels held at the Radisson Blu, Berlin.

This event was attended by more than 60 managers from Berlin hotels.

The day succeeded in increasing membership in the pink pillow collection - from 23 to a launch total of 40 hotels.

(L to R) Ian Johnson, Out Now; Ralf Ostendorf,
visitBerlin; Philip Ibrahim, Accor Hotels

I was invited to present Out Now Business Class training content and research data from the LGBT2020 study to help inform those attending.

ONBC membership and staff training online is included for all members of the pink pillow Berlin collection - in German and in English.

Also presenting were project manager Jan Schmitz, long-time LGBT marketing manager Ralf Ostendorf, and comms specialist Anja Seugling, of visitBerlin.

They were joined by Philip Ibrahim of Accor who has been a driving force for the industry side of the project since its inception.

The next stage for the project was to bring the collection to market.

ITB Berlin and Grand Hotel Esplanade Berlin launch

The first public outing of the pink pillow collection took place over the past week during Berlin ITB travel trade show.

(L to R): Marco Seitelmann, Abba
Berlin Hotel; Darren Cooper, Out Now

From March 6 - 10 the pink pillow collection featured in a pink pillow island near the Berlin Tourismus & Kongress main stand.

On March 9 a special LGBT breakfast was held at the Grand Hotel Esplanade Berlin hotel attended by leading LGBT tourism and media.

The details of the project were shared with those attending and the response was strongly positive.

Below is the official press release for the pink pillow Berlin collection.

This initiative sets a new standard for LGBT hospitality and is at the forefront of leading LGBT market development over the past decade.

Well done visitBerlin - and all forty of the pink pillow hotels. That number looks set to rise as a result of last week's successful launch.


pink pillow – New Network of Hotels in Berlin

Nhow Hotel, pink pillow collection member

Berlin, 4 March 2013 | The ITB will be the official launch of the pink pillow Berlin Collection. This new initiative from visitBerlin and the Berlin hotel industry invites hotels to come out as especially welcoming to gay and lesbian visitors to Germany's capital. The pink pillow Berlin Collection provides further evidence that Berlin is a tolerant and open metropolis and one of the world's leading gay travel destinations. That´s why visitBerlin and the Berlin hotel industry wanted to strengthen the city's reputation as an attractive destination for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons.

The pink pillow Berlin Collection for the first time sets standards to be identified as especially welcoming. Each participating hotel of the pink pillow Berlin Collection stands for the right that everyone can be the way he wants to be and that every guest should feel safe and welcome. This unique project makes Berlin the first city in the world with a long-term LGBT tourism programme.

Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, remarks: "In Berlin, tolerance is practised and all people are free to be themselves. The city has now created something new for the gay and lesbian travel market and has established a unique hotel network."

Kicking off with 40 hotels in the pink pillow Berlin Collection

The 40 hotels who have joined the pink pillow Berlin Collection at its launch include the nhow Berlin, the Grand Hotel Esplanade Berlin, the Novotel Berlin Am Tiergarten, the Radisson Blu Hotel Berlin, and The Westin Grand Berlin. The hotel collection will continue to be expanded as more and more hotels join the effort. The latest list can be found at pinkpillow-berlin.com.

A pledge to our LGBT guests

The hotels of the pink pillow Berlin Collection welcome LGBT guests always with professional and courteous service. All participating hotels have signed a special welcoming charter which must be displayed in the hotel. It commits the hotel to value all guests equally. They must also engage in social projects for the LGBT scene and be prepared to offer guests information on the LGBT scene in Berlin.

Schwules Museum - LGBT history museum, Berlin

To make visitors more aware of the pink pillow Berlin Collection, visitBerlin is undertaking various marketing activities in Germany and in selected foreign markets.

A road show through the Scandinavian capitals of Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm is planned for April. The pink pillow initiative will also be present during the CSD festivals in Cologne (5–7 Jul) and Munich (6–14 Jul).

Berlin recognised the gay and lesbian traveller segment as one with enormous international market potential. Estimates indicate that LGBT guests currently represent about 6% of the overnight stays in Berlin. visitberlin is actively working to attract LGBT visitors to Berlin and has been coordinating with various organisations for eleven years on this project. The pink pillow Berlin Collection is a concrete initiative which sets Berlin apart from other popular LGBT destinations (such as New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, Rio and São Paulo).

For more information on LGBT-friendly Berlin and all of the hotels participating pink pillow Berlin Collection, as well as hotel booking and special Berlin tips, go to: pinkpillow-berlin.com.

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved, for the world, by Out Now - any unauthorised use is prohibited. 

IGLTA Board Policy Tested

LGBT NEWS: Wednesday March 6, 2013

A policy put in place by the IGLTA is to be tested by one of the harshest critics of that policy.

Rick Hurlbut, IGLTA Board nominee

Mr Rick Hurlbut has been a member of the IGLTA LGBT travel association since 1989 and was responsible for a campaign that saw a reasonably large number of members that voted - more than one in four - rejecting recent Bylaws changes championed by the Association's Board President, Tanya Churchmuch and their CEO, John Tanzella.

In championing the move from an IGLTA Board that was directly voted for by the general membership to one that is chosen by a Board sub-committee in concert with Tanzella, both the CEO and Churchmuch urged members to vote for the change because:

"This will allow us to recruit board members from more diverse regions of the world and sectors of the travel industry. It also will enable us to target board members with areas of expertise that are crucial to the association's future success."

Rick Hurlbut would seem to fit this bill perfectly. He is passionate, committed to the success of the IGLTA and seeks a voice on the Board for the more than one in four members who voted against the change to the organization's Board election process.

Committed to success

Hurlbut told Gay Market News he is running to seek to ensure the association's future success.

"While it may now seem hypocritical to seek appointment to the board, it is also perhaps the only way to ensure that the 26.4% of the membership who rejected the changes continue to have a voice." 

His experience seems to more than meet the selection guidelines set down by IGLTA, and Hurlbut outlined a specific program of initiatives he seeks to bring to his tenure on the Board - including outreach to small business members - a group who were traditionally the lifeblood of the organization, but many of whom have previously complained that the IGLTA has lost sight of their needs.

Gay Market News fully endorses the candidacy of Rick Hurlbut for Board member of IGLTA. We encourage those readers who would like to support this initiative to email the IGLTA selection committee, at the email address listed below.

Hurlbut's statement - released today - appears in full below.

Rick Hurlbut, IGLTA Board Nominee, Seeks Endorsements


Earlier this week I submitted my name for consideration for appointment to the IGLTA Board of Directors. Let me tell you why and how you can help.

Since board elections have now been abolished and replaced with an appointment process, I can no longer run for office. My suitability will instead be determined by a selection committee instead of the membership. However, I believe you can still play a part in the selection process by endorsing my nomination. You’ll find details at the end of this message.

It is no secret that I have been critical of a number of IGLTA programs and policy decisions, including the bylaw revisions which resulted in an appointed board. While it may now seem hypocritical to seek appointment to the board, it is also perhaps the only way to ensure that the 26.4% of the membership who rejected the changes continue to have a voice.

To that end, here are the policies and programs I intend to pursue:

• Outreach to small GLBT businesses - principally travel agencies, tour operators and accommodations – through a mix of appropriate membership fees and tailored benefits, in order to encourage and retain an important base of IGLTA membership.
• Seek greater transparency and improved communications between the administration and membership. Options include: an online member forum; the regular and prompt posting of minutes and committee reports to the member area of the IGLTA website; and online ‘town hall’ meetings.
• Improve member participation through regional meetings and mini-conferences, in conjunction with local/regional/national DMOs, GLBT tourism bodies and IGLTA Ambassadors. 
• Establish continuing education through in-house and sponsored webinars; including destination and product knowledge; marketing strategies; and IGLTA programs.
• Re-establish the IGLTA Membership Directory, preferably in print, but at least digital.

Here are my qualifications:

• BA in Recreation and Leisure Studies, with a specialization in Community Development, from the University of Alberta
• Certification as a Travel Consultant from Grant McEwan Community College
• IGLTA Member since 1989
• Travel Consultant from 1991 to 2011, including work as a travel agent temp, full-time agency employment and outside sales positions.
• Owner/Operator of Red Rocket Travel, 1999 – 2004
• Volunteer advisory committee member with Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Toronto.
• Many volunteer board positions, including: Vancouver Pride Society; Gay & Lesbian Business Association of BC; Bob Loblaw Queer Arts Society. Founding member of Ryerson Lesbians & Gay Men in Toronto, and Gays & Lesbians on Campus in Edmonton. 
• Founder of Travel Queery, a B2B news sharing service focused on GLBT travel and tourism. 
• Self-employed for the past 15 years.

My resume is available on request.

I have met all the requirements of board appointment, which are:

• An IGLTA member in good standing for at least two years and have attended at least one IGLTA convention.
• A role model of IGLTA values, with the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the organization, its members, partners, and the LGBT community.
• Willing to devote at least 4 hours per month to IGLTA matters (including an hour long monthly conference call).
• Available to attend two in-person Board meetings per year that require travel (travel costs covered by IGLTA), one in October/November, a second right before the annual convention. You must also be available to stay for the duration of the convention.
• Available to chair and to prepare for and participate in regular meetings of at least one committee.
• Willing to commit to at least one two year term.

You can find more information here: http://www.iglta.org/media/939507/bod_application.pdf

If you believe that I can represent your interests, and have the skills and dedication required to fulfill a board position, please send your endorsement to: nominations@iglta.org. And please also send me a copy: rickhurlbut@uniserve.com. 

The timelines of the selection committee are unknown, so it’s important that you respond quickly, and no later than the end of March.

Since there is no vote, you do not need to be a current IGLTA member to submit an endorsement. Indeed, if you find my platform appealing, and would consider membership with these programs in place, your opinion will carry just as much weight.

I will be in attendance at the Chicago IGLTA Convention in May and hope to see you there. If you have any questions before then, please email me.


"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved, for the world, by Out Now - any unauthorised use is prohibited. 

Amazon Kindle Gay Ad

ONBC - TV Commercial

Online retailer Amazon is a company that has for a number of years now chosen to stand with LGBT people in favor of equality.

Now, they have taken their support one step further - with a new television commercial that includes strongly positive support of Marriage Equality.

Ian Johnson

CEO, Out Now Global

Check out our Facebook page

Kindle Paperwhite 2013 TVC

The Kindle product has for two years now included an advertisement on TV that showed a woman reading at the beach.

But whereas last year this ad included an ending where the man asking the Kindle-reading woman for help was left disappointed when she told him that her husband was due back any moment, this year's ad features a quite different ending altogether.

Growing LGBT Visibility

Out Now Business Class features a number of examples of commercials which feature LGBT people.

This ad for Australian airline Qantas was the world's first gay tourism commercial and was made by Out Now way back in 1996.

Members of ONBC can view that unprecedented tourism ad in full online now.

Over many years now, there have been varying levels of LGBT representation in advertising - much of it unsupportive - so when a brand as significant as Amazon takes a stand that is strongly supportive, and founded in principles of equality and acceptance, then the world takes notice.

Tipping Point

Out Now has been saying for more than a year that the tipping point in relation to support for the equal rights in society for LGBT people has been reached and probably passed in many of the larger western-style democracies we work in.

That means that companies have come to realize they have more to gain than to lose by being seen to be unambiguously supportive of their LGBT customers and staff.

The reason for this is simple mathematics. In most countries there are now more people that support their LGBT family, friends and work colleagues than those who oppose them. This makes the decision to stand for LGBT equality not just a responsible social choice - it is also increasingly smart business.

The new Amazon Kindle gay commercial for their Paperwhite e-book reader is a great case-in-point.

Take a look and see what you think of it.




And here's a tip - you can expect to get used to seeing more gay people in more companies' mainstream advertising.

You're going to be seeing a lot more lesbians, gay men and, yes - transgender people - in print, online and TV advertising for a growing number of mainstream brands.

And Out Now thinks that is a very good thing.


"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved, for the world, by Out Now - any unauthorised use is prohibited. 

Stockholm's Stylish Lesbian Moves

ONBC - Case Study

LGBT marketing is advanced by leadership.

It is one of the hallmarks of Out Now that we create some of our best work when our client is one which is pleased to work on that marketing leading-edge with us.

The most successful lesbian-specific social media marketing campaign is a good case-in-point - it was for Out Now client Stockholm Visitors Board and Visit Sweden - two organisations that have been responsible for seeing Stockholm place highly in the annual LGBT2020 research data.

LGBT marketing success does not just happen.

It takes imagination, commitment and implementation - and the 2011 'Stockholm's Leading Ladies' campaign targeting the UK lesbian market is a textbook example of the results able to be derived from the liberal application of all three of these marketing ingredients.

Lesbian marketing does not have to be done with a little L

There has been a lot of recognition over the last few years that the LGBT market is not just one single market.

'Homosexual, not homogenous' - is a term that Out Now Consulting coined a few years ago, and it is a position that is now fairly well established within LGBT marketing circles. One quarter of the acronym LGBT probably has more reason to celebrate this shift in thinking than any other, and that is the lesbian market.

For a long time companies, destinations and brands that wanted to reach the LGBT market did so with advertising that only portrayed gay men in their attempts to woo both the gay and lesbian market. However this approach quickly became passé, and non-representational ads of young chiselled men with very few clothes on increasingly run this risk of looking clichéd - and showing no real insight into the lives of real LGBT people.

The plus side of this for advertisers looking to engage with an L,G,B or T audience, is that by embracing diversity in their campaigns they can also showcase a much broader range of aspects of their products, which will appeal to all segments of this diverse community.

Stockholm's Leading Ladies

One such campaign that Out Now was delighted to work on over the last two years was Stockholm's Leading Ladies campaign. Stockholm is of course one of the most committed and consistent cities in the world when it comes to a forward-thinking LGBT marketing strategy. Over a number of recent years Stockholm has built a solid reputation as a progressive and tolerant city, where the LGBT community is celebrated and supported, and seen as a real asset to the city's international image as a truly diverse and modern metropolis for the new millennium.

As well as hosting frequent visits by journalists from the world's leading LGBT media, Stockholm has also utilised a well-planned international marketing strategy, and a solid and innovative social media platform to communicate the many desirable qualities that the city has to offer for everyone, including of course, LGBT visitors. The success of this activity is evident in the number of people who are expressing an interest in visiting Stockholm, which consistently ranks highly in LGBT2020 research amongst other prestigious European cities vying for the attention of this attractive segment.

So what does a destination that has done so much in terms of their engagement with the LGBT market do next? Well - in the case of Stockholm, a destination that has always looked to do what is next and set the trends, not follow them, a dedicated lesbian campaign seemed not only logical - but inevitable. As anyone who has visited this beautiful city will tell you it has a feminine power that is hard to miss. Simultaneously at one with nature, yet also modern and energetic, safe and progressive, yet still retaining an air of the wild and a sense of unpredictability, Stockholm nurtures its lesbian community - which is why it made perfect sense to include them in a campaign about what makes Stockholm such a fantastic 'Lesbian with a capital L' destination.

"Ladies" starts with the letter 'L'

The Leading Ladies campaign took it's theme from Sweden's eminent actresses including the likes of Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo, whose style and timeless grace exemplify Stockholm's own personality so well. By using social media, a platform that Stockholm Visitor's Board has used so successfully in the past, the campaign was able to be bought bang up to date, and so highlighted the modernity of the city as a destination.

Stockholm continued to innovate with the delivery mechanism of the campaign, which sought to engage with the target lesbian audience in a fun and engaging manner - and which also successfully communicated an authentic invitation for lesbians to visit the city. Stockholm was able to find eight lesbian residents of the city who each described online what they loved most about the city that they called home. These 'perfect Stockholm weekends' were able to be voted on by the target audience, who then had the chance to win their own city break for two people to Stockholm.

By partnering with leading lesbian magazines, blogs, and online and social media communities, the campaign managed to effectively reach and engage with lesbian communities across the United Kingdom.

The uptake and engagement with this campaign was beyond all expectations - generating excellent results but also a great deal of kudos from the lesbian community that Stockholm saw them as a valuable market within its own right.

During and just after the campaign the resulting traffic to Stockholm's official blog increased by 86,7 %, traffic to Stockholm's Lesbian Guide has increased by 167%, and the competition gained 126 entries from the UK alone.

Just on these metrics alone the campaign was judged to be a huge success - but we think that Stockholm's accomplishment here goes much, much further.

At Out Now we believe that marketing is so much more than just pictures and words on a page. It is about establishing and defining the leading edge, and understanding how best to communicate with credibility, empathy and sensitivity - three qualities that we believe Stockholm got absolutely right with this forward-thinking campaign.

Hats off to stylish Stockholm for a brilliant case of marketing leadership.

The 'Stockholm Leading Ladies campaign ran for two months in 2011 and was the most successful lesbian-specific marketing campaign in the world to date. The campaign was conceived and implemented by Out Now for our clients Stockholm Visitors Board and Visit Sweden. Members of Out Now Business Class can view details of this campaign on both video and as a case study in the Education section of ONBC - visit BetterLGBT.com for membership information. Check out Stockholm's LGBT Facebook page.



"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved, for the world, by Out Now - any unauthorised use is prohibited. 

Guadalajara Gay Market Central

Mexico's Second City Revealed To Be Home To First Rate LGBT Market

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO (OUTNOW) -- JANUARY 29, 2012 -- New research released this week has revealed that the Mexican city of Guadalajara is home to one of the world's most significant consumer markets comprised of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) residents.

The findings are part of the world's largest ever LGBT community market research survey - the LGBT2020 Study. This project is sampling hundreds of thousands of LGBT people in countries around the world over a ten year period.

The latest LGBT2020 data - collected in 2012 from respondents in Mexico - reveals that Guadalajara, which is Mexico's second largest city, is also home to one of the world's most significant LGBT markets.

The research shows that a total of more than 192,000 people in the Guadalajara metropolitan area are LGBT and that they earned a combined total income of more than USD$2.9 billion in 2012.

LGBT2020 data also revealed that Guadalajara's LGBT community accounts for 74 new automobile purchases every week in the city - and spend USD$354 million annually on travel.

The research findings show that 45,000 Guadalajara LGBT residents plan to buy a new smartphone during 2013 and 81,000 use their mobile devices to access the internet for more than an hour every day.

According to Ruben Sandoval, CEO of LGBT Confex, the strength of the local LGBT community is an important reason why his specialist events company has chosen to bring their 3rd annual International LGBT Business Expo to Guadalajara in September 2013.

"We always knew that the local Guadalajara community is a large one," said Sandoval. "These new LGBT2020 findings are strong as they help us to quantify the scale of the business opportunity that local LGBT people present for those businesses willing to learn how to understand how to connect with this substantial consumer group. That is what LGBT Confex events are all about and we are delighted to be bringing our 3rd annual International LGBT Business Expo to Guadalajara this September."

Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now Global - the world's leading LGBT consulting organization who undertake the international LGBT2020 study - said the findings contained some surprises.

"Out Now tracks LGBT lives all over the world and we think that a lot of organizations and businesses in Mexico are going to be surprised to discover just how significant the value of the LGBT market is in Guadalajara," Johnson said. "LGBT people are an increasingly important part of many companies customer base and their workforce so this research and the forthcoming LGBT Confex event in Guadalajara this September should prove to be of great benefit to all, most especially to the local LGBT community. When business takes the trouble to understand and meet the needs of their LGBT customers they can expect to be rewarded with brand loyalty and added sales. This is a genuine win-win situation - with the LGBT community having their consumer needs become better met by the companies that serve them."

Sandoval said that the LGBT2020 population estimates of 6% of the adult population in Guadalajara being LGBT is most likely to be an underestimation, with the true percentage being somewhat higher.

"In reality, Guadalajara serves as a center of attraction not only for its own existing residents but also the many thousands of LGBT people who choose to move there from more conservative towns and cities across the whole northern half of Mexico," Sandoval said. "This fact makes the market impacts of the LGBT population in the city even more important for government, business and organizations to understand. The LGBT community is a very large and significant group of Guadalajara residents."

Guadalajara is a major business center with many international corporations having representative and head offices located there.

The city is home to many of Mexico's lesbian and gay bars and large mall-based retail shopping developments which attract large numbers of non-local LGBT people who visit Guadalajara throughout the year as a result.

ABOUT LGBT CONFEX:

Latin America’s leading LGBT conferences and Exhibitions Company is LGBT Confex www.lgbtconfex.com . Established in 2011, the organization quickly demonstrated its capabilities to put together a professional team with staff who bring many years in event management expertise. Following the success of their inaugural event in 2011, LGBT Confex doubled in scale with 2012's even more successful event in Cancun. Plans are now well underway for three events by the organization in 2013 – the 3rd International LGBT Business Expo www.LGBTbusinessExpo.com and the 1st International LGBT Travel Show www.LGBTtravelShow.com in Guadalajara, Mexico, as well as managing sales and logistics for the Reed Exhibitions LGBT space - Out Now Business Class at WTM - to be held in April in Sao Paulo, Brazil at World Travel Market Latin America.

ABOUT OUT NOW™

The world’s premier LGBT marketing organization is Out Now. Established in 1992 in Australia, Out Now has grown to reach more than 20 markets worldwide. Its work covers strategy, communications and training as well as managing the world’s largest and most extensive LGBT market research program LGBT2020 www.LGBT2020.com . Many of the world’s leading brands including IBM, Volvo, Toyota, Citibank, Barclays Bank, Time Inc Magazines, Doubleday Books, Hilton Hotels and German National Tourist Office rely upon Out Now Global. The agency also provides the world's best LGBT business networking program Out Now Business Class www.OutNowBusinessClass.com - and delegates to the LGBT Confex event are being provided with complimentary membership in this world's best B2B initiative.

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved, for the world, by Out Now - any unauthorised use is prohibited. 

Gay Men Spotted In Times Square

Advertising targeting gay men is currently on billboards in Times Square, New York City.

You Better Watch Out!

If you go down to Times Square today you may be in for a big surprise. A new advertising campaign for Manhunt - a gay online hook-up site - is causing waves in mid-town Manhattan.

Big, bright, shiny billboards are part of what helps give Times Square its dynamic energy - but one of those billboards appearing there today has got more than a few hearts racing it seems.

The campaign in question features three rotating images on a large billboard showing several bare-chested men - like these guys:

And this one:

The ads have caused quite a stir.

Many commentators claim the advertising is 'not appropriate' for the area - which, since a major clean-up instituted by former NYC Mayor Giuliani, has seen gay men largely whitewashed out of what has become a 'family-friendly' mainstream - read 'heterosexual' - destination.

Of course time was when Times Square was one of the places where gay men would meet and hook-up in person - with many of the now long-gone adult movie theaters which used to make up many of the local businesses catering to a specifically gay clientele.

For or against?

In their coverage, the Huffington Post included an online poll asking their reader whether these ads belonged there.

The results might just surprise you.

Almost half of all respondents thought the ads should not be there.

But is this just a case of a convenient double-standard?

Gay Market News on Facebook 

Out Now posted the top image on our Gay Market News Facebook page - and some of the comments were interesting.

Many were supportive: 

I love it!

Fantastic.

Another was rather cleverly analytical:

Broadway Theatre + Spectacle + NYC @ Christmas 

= Captive Gay Male Audience

And one final comment makes a strong point:

If it were a Victoria's Secret ad with mostly naked women, 
nobody would say a thing. I think it's great.

Indeed.




Out Now™ Global is the world's leading LGBT marketing organization. For two decades we have made sure our clients stay on the leading-edge of global development of LGBT markets - right around the world. 

The world's best LGBT B2B networking association is Out Now Business Class - join today for just USD$195 and take your LGBT marketing to the Next Level.

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved - for the world - by Out Now. Any unauthorised use is prohibited. 

More Trouble For IGLTA

More questions faced by IGLTA - this time about their membership numbers.

The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association has careered from one crisis to the next this year - but the troubles appear to be far from over. Concerns have been raised for the very survival of the IGLTA. 

2012 has seen an almost continuous sequence of serious problems. Here are just a few of those: 

• continuing resignations of important IGLTA personnel
• IGLTA's disastrous consumer outreach program 
• members being stripped of voting rights
• ongoing corporate governance problems
• members goaded into paying a fee for a report available for free from a partner organisation
• ethics allegations against the Board which are unanswered - and unresolved.  

Now, new questions are being raised as to the veracity of IGLTA's claimed membership numbers.

The escalating series of bad management decisions is causing many to wonder how the association they once cared about has become such a shambles. As 2012 draws to a close that is sadly the situation faced by what was once the premier organization representing global LGBT tourism. This year has seen a slow and continuing decline result from a series of poor management and Board decisions. 

How many real members?

A new question has just been raised, one which may prove to be among the most serious problems faced by IGLTA as it enters 2013: how many active members does the association really have?

IGLTA's website describes themselves as "the leading member-based global organization dedicated to LGBT tourism". That claim might possibly hold water if all the members found on their website actually were current members. However it is not hard to find that some listings currently appearing on the IGLTA official website are for businesses that are no longer members of the association.

Given that IGLTA charges members a fee of up to USD$3500 to advertise in their newsletter as part of their "marketing" program - this unknown number of lapsed members being included in the 'official' count of IGLTA members would appear to raise serious ethical questions regarding the organization's claims about the number of members being reached. 

The IGLTA media kit for these advertising charges even goes so far as to claim advertisers can "reach 3,000 LGBT tourism industry professionals every week" - a number far exceeding the IGLTA's own claim to have "over 2400 member businesses in over 80 countries". Their own website later further inflates this claim to: "reach 4,500 LGBT tourism industry professionals every week". There is the prospect of course that the newsletter may be sent to a number of non-members as well as members.

Of still greater concern though is that a simple search on the IGLTA website today suggests that - even including an unknown number of lapsed members in their count - only 1,224 total member listings actually appear.

The question has to be asked - where are the missing 1,200 members, being the difference between the member listings appearing on the IGLTA website compared to the "over 2,400 member businesses" which are supposedly IGLTA members?

Only a little over 1200 members are listed...

Could it be that this many members failed to upload a listing on the IGLTA website? If that is so, why have there been no calls made in recent IGLTA communications to remind these members that they need to create and update their own listings? 

Or could it be that when the latest version of the IGLTA website launched in April of 2012, for the first time in a long time, the actual member database was used, rather than an out-of-date printed directory which, over time, had perhaps included ever increasing numbers of lapsed members - leading to what became a large historical over-inflation of claimed members? 

It does seem very odd that any Association would only list half of its paid members online in a members directory.

The issue seems to resolve down into one of two possibilities - either the IGLTA is simply incompetent, or else they are actually being dishonest.

...but IGLTA's site encourages advertisers
that there are twice as many members.

Neither prospect seems likely to fill IGLTA members - however many of them there actually currently are - with great confidence that they are members of a robust, reliable and representative industry body.

Given that some 600 or 700 listings are believed to be memberships paid for as Expedia-sponsored hotels, that could mean that the IGLTA may actually have as little as just a few hundred bona-fide, engaged, dues-paying members. 

As to the ethics of charging advertisers in their newsletters rather exorbitant fees to reach what in reality may prove to be a much lower number of tourism professional "member businesses" each week than is claimed by IGLTA - that is a matter between IGLTA management, its Board, their members - and, most importantly, the paying advertisers relying upon IGLTA's claimed newsletter reach.

Resignations

One of the things that typifies the IGLTA's continuing decline has been the steady stream of resignations by key staff and Board members. This started last year and has continued through 2012.

The last Board of IGLTA saw three Board members resign - Darren Cooper, Cordey Lash and Bryan Herb - all highly respected LGBT business professionals. This was out of a total of just eight directors - with the most recent resignation related to failures in corporate governance and breaches of IGLTA's own bylaws by members of its Board.

The longest serving IGLTA staff member, Director of Global Business Development, Tom Nibbio - was an eminent tourism industry professional whose position was reportedly redefined by management during 2011. Nibbio left IGLTA in October 2011.

This followed the hiring of a new VP of Marketing, Deborah Sas in August 2011, a decision which was lauded as the answer to so many of the problems that faced the organisation at that time. Ms. Sas was responsible for sponsorships and a proposed direct-to-consumer marketing change for the organization, a direction that has been discovered to be clearly at odds with the IGLTA's original purpose of being a business-to-business focused representative trade association.


Consumer outreach debacle

On October 17, 2012 the IGLTA newsletter announced to members that: "IGLTA is officially launching a business to consumer outreach program to complement our respected business to business operation. This initiative is a technology-driven partnership with Out Escapes, a dynamic company that offers handpicked travel and event packages for LGBT travelers. The Out Escapes collaboration provides opportunities for all of our member business types to participate and directly engage gay travelers."

Deborah Sas was the person nominated as key contact in that email for the scheme, however both the project - and Ms Sas - were both soon destined to no longer be part of IGLTA.

The initiative was one which, initially at least, clearly enjoyed the strong support of management - including the organization's President/CEO John Tanzella.

According to a follow-up October 18 email to members, this project involved IGLTA attempting to convince members that they should pay money to sell their own product through a single IGLTA member - Out Escapes. 

It seems IGLTA was looking to profit from an unknown share of the hefty fees and commissions that would have been levied on IGLTA members for every sale they made through the scheme.

Those whom Gay Market News spoke to at the time were astounded that IGLTA appeared to be angling to compete with its own members, or at the very least, profit from its own members simply for helping them with their businesses. One former member of IGLTA that Gay Market News spoke with described the planned Out Escapes scheme by IGLTA as "utterly bonkers".

Member backlash

Many members of IGLTA's membership - the engaged core of which has always comprised travel agents and tour operators - appear to have gone ballistic.

On October 23, President/CEO John Tanzella wrote again to members, trying to reassure them that - despite what the earlier communications from IGLTA had seemed to suggest - "this (initiative) was designed to promote a potential new benefit to all IGLTA members, but was not meant to imply that it is our sole means of consumer outreach, nor that IGLTA is competing against its members with travel sales. Out Escapes is offering our members priority listings and discounts." He still seemed committed to seeing the scheme implemented, despite the protests members had obviously made.

Tanzella in that email made no mention of the associated fees and commissions that the scheme had intended to charge IGLTA members, nor how much of those revenues were destined to end up with the IGLTA organization itself.

Cancelled

On October 31 Deb Sas left IGLTA and in an email sent to a selected list of recipients she advised: "I am leaving my position at IGLTA as of October 31st to transition as the Vice President of Business Development for Out Escapes" - namely the same organisation that was supposed to charge IGLTA members to sell their own travel products to LGBT consumers, generating various fees and commissions in the process. 

A week later Tanzella bowed to mounting pressure and finally pulled the plug on IGLTA's scheme which it seems had, by then, turned into a fiasco. 

He wrote: "I would like to follow up with you on the pending IGLTA partnership with Out Escapes, which you provided me your feedback (sic). We attempted to craft the partnership to engage the entire membership, including travel agents. After careful consideration, we were unfortunately unable to find an amicable resolution for the products and services and since cancelled the partnership (sic). We wish the team at Out Escapes well. IGLTA looks forward to continuing to work closely with you to continually improve the Association and enhance the benefits available to you."

Given that the most active component of IGLTA's membership has always been made up of travel agents and tour operators - the very members that the scheme was seeking to charge, to sell their own products and services, to financially benefit IGLTA - it seems management was asleep at the wheel, at best. 

Or perhaps IGLTA management had become so out of touch with what IGLTA members really want from their Association that they thought they could push such a bizarre scheme onto their members - and a compliant membership would just accept it. 

In yet another worrying development, any hopes IGLTA members might have had to vote for new Board members - to try and change the directions currently being adopted by the organization's management - is just about to be removed from them.

Members stripped of Voting Rights

On October 24, 2012 IGLTA announced that a vote held to change the organisation's bylaws had been passed on the votes of barely 250 of the Association's "over 2,400" claimed members. Despite an objectively poor voting turnout, this was a majority of the 343 votes which were reported to have been cast.

One result of these changes is that from next year IGLTA members lose the right to vote for the Board members who will represent them. The appointment of Board members will be made by a Board sub-committee. 

Controversially, this sub-committee is to include the President/CEO - a paid staff member whose performance and conduct those appointed to the Board are meant to judge. 

As well as depriving members of a vote in the direction of "their" organization, there are clear conflict of interest issues which arise when any CEO is made part of the process of appointing those who will judge whether that person is the best for their role. 

In practical terms, the risks of cronyism, nepotism and undue influence connected with making such appointments clearly exist.

This recent decision may well be one that the current members of IGLTA will come to regret.

Continuing ethics problems

The claimed number of IGLTA members is not the only ethics issue faced by the organisation.  

In February 2012, a longtime member of IGLTA noticed that the organization was trying to sell members a printed copy of a United Nations tourism report for USD$95 - even though a PDF of that report was freely available to general members of the public, totally free-of-charge. After this became known, management of IGLTA reportedly instructed their personnel to remove links on Facebook to this free PDF download - presumably as they still hoped to sell some printed copies of the report to members. 

A number of questions put to the President/CEO John Tanzella at that time, about his claims that the $95 charge to IGLTA members was necessary to cover postage and printing of the report, remain unanswered. It was later discovered that the report itself contains an acknowledgement of "thanks (to) NYC and Company for sponsoring the printing of this report."

In April 2012, a newly elected IGLTA Board member was accused of theft from a former IGLTA member - with extensive documentation evidencing the alleged thefts being posted online. 

No rebuttal of these allegations and the contents of those documents has ever been made by the IGLTA. No statement has ever been made by the accused Board member, nor by IGLTA management, refuting the evidence presented online in those documents. 

Sources close to the Board of IGLTA tell Gay Market News that the Board member in question - Pablo De Luca - has close business connections to the Tourism Ministry of Argentina - and that Tanzella is reportedly hopeful that Buenos Aires may soon bid to host an upcoming IGLTA annual convention, perhaps accounting for why De Luca still remains on the Board today. Evidence of those new allegations is yet to be released.

What future for IGLTA?

2013 needs to bring better times for the organization, or there could exist the real risk that the IGLTA may cease to be. 

At the very least, based on the above litany of decline, the IGLTA has arguably lost the right to any claim to be "the world's leading global travel network dedicated to connecting and educating LGBT travelers and the businesses that welcome and support them."

It really is almost impossible to see how any organization making such a claim could have taken so many poor decisions in such a short space of time in pursuing its "mission". So many of the IGLTA's decisions - and mistakes - in 2012 appear to have been detrimental to the interests of its own members.

Questions about actual numbers of current IGLTA members is a serious professional ethics issue that ought to be addressed by management. 

Perhaps the most pertinent comment to sum up what has turned out to be a disastrous year for the IGLTA was made to Gay Market News by a lesbian who is a former IGLTA member, back in April 2012, when she wrote:

"The IGLTA downhill spiral (death roll?) goes agonisingly on. Wish their directions were ones I found supportable but bad decision compounded upon bad decision is now simply too much to be bothered with."

Out Now Global is the world's leading LGBT marketing organization. For two decades we have made sure our clients stay on the leading-edge of global development of LGBT markets - right around the world.

"Out Now", "OutNow" and all related words and logos are trademarks of Out Now, Lage Nieuwstraat, 2512 VX Netherlands. All rights reserved - for the world - by Out Now. Any unauthorised use is prohibited.