Toronto GLBT Tourism Marketing

TOPICS: GLBT tourism. Gay travel. Lesbian travel. Tourism initiative to target LGBT travelers. Lesbian and gay travel and tourism news. Toronto, Canada launches new GLBT travel and tourism initiative to target gay travel market.

Ian Johnson, Out Now
June 18, 2007

Toronto joins the growing list of tourism destinations that are actively targeting the lesbian and gay travel segment. LGBT travelers make up a highly sought after market target for a growing range of brands and travel and tourism business is amongst the most aggressively targeted.

Various destination marketing organisations (DMO) around the world target the gay travel market. Of course it is not as simple as just roll out the rainbow welcome mat and expect the pink dollars to flow.

DMOs are becoming increasingly aware that in a market space as competitive as gay travel they need to do much more, and the experience of the lesbian and gay traveler as they visit a destination is the most important element of success.

It does not matter how much LGBT travel advertising and tourism marketing is done - the most important factor is word-of-mouth referral business over time, and that invaluable gay target consumer 'buzz' is something that builds, over time, as a result of consistent marketing effort and from the grassroots level.

Initiatives for sustained GLBT tourism market success require marketing that recognizes this, and focuses serious effort on the experiences of GLBT travel as experienced at the travel interface - the actual point of transaction between the gay traveler and the travel industry staff at a destination.

Getting that right builds sustainable gay travel market success.

The Toronto DMO, Tourism Toronto, said that this new initiative is an important one.

“The gay travel market is one of the fastest-growing segments and is a $55 billion industry. This represents a major opportunity for Toronto,” according to David Whitaker, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto. “Toronto offers a great deal to gay visitors, who tend to travel more often, stay longer and spend more in a destination.”

Although Tourism Toronto has marketed to gay travelers in the past, this year it increased its investment by 50 per cent to $300,000 to reach this important segment, focusing on four major U.S. cities – New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Tourism Toronto also announced today that Toronto has won the bid to host the 2009 Annual Convention of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA). “In choosing Toronto, our members sensed a thriving and well-organized community that is making a serious, long-term commitment to the gay travel market,” said John Tanzella, Executive Director of the IGLTA.

Tourism Toronto has established a new Gay Marketing Advisory Group that includes more than a dozen local community leaders. The industry association is also helping hotels in the city and region gain accreditation as ‘gay-friendly’ establishments through Travel Gay Canada.

Toronto City Councillor Kyle Rae, who chairs the Advisory Group, noted that “this is a great market for Toronto, one that represents millions of dollars in additional tourism for the city.”

Recent research shows that U.S. gay travelers:

• Travel more frequently – 98% have taken at least one overnight trip in the last twelve months, compared with 72% for heterosexual Americans.
• Stay longer – They stayed a median of 15 nights in hotels last year, compared with an average of about three nights for all U.S. travelers
• Spend more – Gay men spend $800 on average per trip, compared to $540 by non-gay travelers.
• Are more likely to hold passports – 71% of travelers who identify themselves as gay hold a valid passport, nearly three times the overall U.S. average of 24%. With the rules requiring a passport to re-enter the United States, gays and lesbians are more readily able to travel to Toronto.
• Travel throughout the year – With an average household income of $85,000 and a median age of 44, this market tends to travel throughout the year, not just during peak seasons.

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