The Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality
LGBT tourism has gone from a niche business to a major player in the over all tourism business in the last decade. Major mainstream travel brands including Marriott, Alaska Airlines, Hilton, Preferred Hotels and Virgin Holidays plus tourism boards are investing serious resources in ad campaigns and marketing plans to court the competitive LGBT market. However, many professionals in the tourism industry may lack information or know how in serving LGBT clientele effectively. Up until now there’s only been one book on the subject, Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing by Jeff Guaracino, which was written ten years ago.
Expanding and updating the idea of his last book Guaracino and his business partner Ed Salvato, both gay travel industry veterans with experience in marketing, journalism, and education, have written The Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality, the first major handbook about all aspects of the LGBT travel market.
The Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality is divided into six sections:
The Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality is divided into six sections:
Salvato and Guaracino traveled to six continents and spent countless hours interviewing close to 100 industry experts in researching the book.
Below is an interview with Salvato and Guaracino for anyone in the travel business who works with LGBT clients or looking to expand their LGBT client base.
What was the impetus to write The Handbook of LGBT Tourism & Hospitality?
We had several reasons for writing the Handbook of LGBT Tourism & Hospitality Marketing:
What are some of the myths and stereotypes of LGBT travel do you dispel in the book?
What were the most surprising things you learned during your research that you didn’t know before?
Both of you are travel industry veterans. Why this book now and not before?
What are some practical tips you have for travel agents when booking travel for LGBT clients?
What are a few of the current trends in LGBT travel that are in the book? We cover many trends including 10 of the most significant ones. Here are a few from that list.
What are some new destinations for LGBT travelers?
There are many destinations reaching out to the LGBT market that may be very surprising:
What are the most welcoming and least welcoming countries for LGBT travelers?
There are over 70 countries where homosexuality is criminalized and same-sex marriage is legal in over 20 countries. While this tells you about the legality of homosexuality around the world, it doesn't necessarily describe the welcome gay travelers will receive.
At ManAboutWorld gay travel magazine (at which I am editor in chief) one of our writers and his husband visited Iran and had a very welcoming time. Anecdotally the only times I have ever heard the word faggot yelled at me was in Boston, Provincetown and San Francisco – three places you may assume are the world's gay friendliest. So the reality is quite complicated.
Many destinations like Egypt and Morocco have hospitality for all built into their DNA. But if you look at deeply embedded efforts to welcome LGBT travelers where nearly every hotel and every attraction affirmatively reaches out to LGBT travelers, you have to cite: Ft. Lauderdale; New York City; San Francisco; Great Britain; Spain; Argentina; Tel Aviv to name a few. We cover many more in our book.
Will there be updated versions or addendums of the book?
Yes, we are planning on updating the book in the future. The format and publishing dates are to-be-determined.
Ed Salvato has worn many hats in the travel world including journalist, author, public speaker and content expert. He was editor in chief of Out Traveler Magazine, was corporate director of travel media for PlanetOut Inc., overseeing travel content at Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, OutTraveler.com, Advocate.com, and Advocate Magazine and since 2012 he has served as chief content officer of ManAboutWorld, the world’s number-one digital gay travel magazine for tablets and smartphones.
Jeff Guaracino was the vice president of communications for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPMTC) from 2001 until 2012, leading the team that created Philadelphia’s groundbreaking campaign, Philadelphia Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay. The award-winning campaign set a new record for effectiveness and return on investment, making history with many LGBT marketing firsts, among them the debut of the world’s first television commercial for a destination for the LGBT traveler. In 2016 Philadelphia’s Mayor Jim Kenney named Guaracino president and CEO of Welcome America, Inc., in Philadelphia.
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.Source: http://www.travelagentcentral.com
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.Source: http://www.travelagentcentral.com
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