TOPICS: Gay.Com. Gay market news. UK. Gay Market. EU gay market. Lesbian and gay tourism market the topic for business news articles about VisitBritain and gay travel and tourism to the UK.You are at the Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site.
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It really is becoming a little like "no sex please - we're British" to read some of the reporting now going on about last weekend's gay tourism report on gay market research on UK gay travel marketing by VisitBritain.We think that some of what is supposedly being discussed by VisitBritain may be going too far in a wrong direction, and that a more inclusive approach to their gay travel marketing strategy is what they ought to do.
The US sell-out Atlantis events cruise ship advertising shows that sex can still sell travel to foreign destinations.
What we think is that, in the past, sex and camp innuendo was almost ALL VisitBritain was relying on to sell gay travel, and that the attractiveness of British culture was relatively neglected in their advertising in VisitBritain gay tourism marketing pitches, especially the ones VisitBritain signed off on for the States.
Does that mean though that VisitBritain now should 'throw out' references to Pride festivals in the UK or even (OOH-ERR!) sex possibilities when visitors are on a gay tourism trip to the UK? We think not.
The question is really one of balance.
Berlin, like London, for example, is a gay and somewhat sexy city for gay travel - but Out Now research shows lesbians and gay men react a little differently to travel there, so our gay travel marketing strategies we develop for Berlin Tourism Marketing, for German National Tourist Office, for Lufthansa and for Air Berlin need to reflect that.
Similar intelligence and finessing of gay tourism market strategy is what VisitBritain should be working towards.
What VisitBritain should not do is to overreact initially on the strength of a single focus group study - as to what is most important to maximise total inbound gay travel revenues to the UK market.
The marketing goal is surely to maximise the numbers of US gay travelers to the UK, not to redefine the entire gay travel market strategy in a manner that might potentially limit the overall numbers of lesbians and gay traveling to the UK market for tourism.
Can VisitBritain manage to be 'all things to all people'. Of course not. Nor should they try to be. But should VisitBritain be aiming to reach out to as many lesbians and gay men as they possibly can, whose reasons for travel to the UK market are as diverse as they could imagine? Absolutely.
Ruling out, entirely, some elements of previous VisitBritain gay travel marketing campaigns - such as promoting local Pride events - is a potential mistake.
What Out Now think needs reworking by VisitBritain is the relative emphasis between mainstream and gay elements of VisitBritain's gay tourism marketing strategy.
More on that later, but in the meantime we thought this UK Gay.com article on the gay travel VisitBritain research issue was an interesting read.
Here is an extract that adds some humour to the debate about needing to get the advertising and promotional mix of gay marketing elements right to maximise VisitBritain gay tourism revenues:
It’s encouraging that the gay community is being seen as having other aspects besides its hedonistic, indulgent elements.
On the other hand, it’s worth questioning whether the lady doth protest too much. How the gay community would like to be perceived, and what actually floats the collective boat might actually be miles apart.
In one respect at least, us gays are no different from our heterosexual brothers and sisters- sex and aspiration sells. Okay, not everybody is swayed by the lure of youth, beauty and artistic erotica, but lets face it, nobody bought Abecrombie & Fitch for the clothes.
Here at GAY.com, there’s one undeniable and persistent truth- a story which is illustrated with a sexy picture will get garner more readers than one which doesn’t, regardless of the copy.
Headlines which are salacious, sleazy or feature celebrities will always get more clicks than ones that are concerned with politics, religion or current affairs.
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