The importance of understanding your gay traveler

October 2008

The travel world is becoming more and more aware of the importance of understanding what their travelers want and predict their behavior to be able to communicate and reach their customers. The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association - IGLTA introduces a new tool to help the travel industry to understand their gay travelers and find the proper way to communicate with them.

IGLTA is partnering with the leading gay and lesbian specialist marketing agency, Out Now who developed a gay travel training, accreditation and marketing program - GayComfort - to enhance the global travel industry’s ability to deliver quality travel product to the gay and lesbian travel customer.

GayComfort trains travel industry staff online, then via an accreditation process, allows consumers to decide to stay with specific hotels as a result. It comprises a suite of online training knowledge for staff working in the travel industry worldwide. It covers key areas of gay travel concern such as appropriate terminology, debunking stereotypes and provides practical tips on how staff can make their lesbian and gay customers feel comfortable being themselves. In 2006 research by the Travel Industry Association in the US showed that most gay and lesbian travelers actively seek to stay where they believe they will be most welcomed. Out Now’s latest research shows that in the UK, three out of four gay travelers actively seek out hotels they believe to be gay-welcoming. GayComfort gives consumers reassurance that staffs working at the hotels they stay in understand gay travel concerns and have received specific training to meet these concerns. "Gay and lesbian travelers consistently remark that the ’missing link’ in the gay travel experience is to know that they can relax and be themselves when on vacation," said Tom Nubbin, IGLTA global ambassador. According to Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now, GayComfort meets an important market need. "Before now, consumers could not be certain when staying in a particular property how well trained staff were about the issues that concern gay travelers," Johnson said.

"It is the attitude of staff that really determines whether a consumer has a great vacation or not. That is really valuable to gay people on vacation, and it is something that most other travelers take for granted and never have to think about."