David Paisley


Firms urged to establish needs of transgender clients


Campaigners urged travel companies and organisations to talk to them directly to find out the requirements of transgender customers. Mara Keisling, founder and


Event at


Magic Hour in New York


Association sets sights on recruiting more UK agents


IGLTA will be targeting UK travel agents ahead of its 2020 convention in Milan.


The association hopes hosting its annual convention in northern Italy will attract more delegates from Europe and encourage more British agents to join IGLTA. President and chief executive


John Tanzella said: “The UK is a very advanced market for LGBTQ+ travellers, so it’s a great revenue opportunity for agents. “It would be wonderful to have more members from the UK.” The association works in 82 countries and has about 50 UK members, including


hotels, tourism boards and agents.


“LGBTQ+ travellers travel more than the mainstream travel


community, so for


agents, it’s a business


John Tanzella


opportunity,” said Tanzella. “There


are more destinations marketing themselves to the LGBTQ+ sector and more travellers are going to non-typical destinations, such as secondary cities in the US, and even places such as Uganda.” Membership ranges from


$245 to $500 a year, depending on business size, and allows a company to use the IGLTA logo. “Our Milan convention next year also will be a great opportunity for education,” added Tanzella of the May 6-9, 2020, event.


The association produces


reports investigating issues affecting LGBTQ+ travel, such as safety in destinations around the world – which Tanzella said is the number-one issue for LGBTQ+ travellers. Volunteer members act as ambassadors in each country, offering advice to members or curating experiences for clients. IGLTA works with other travel


bodies such as Etoa and the European Travel Commission.


Google reports shift to visual searches


Google is seeing a shift from voice searches towards more visual queries as artificial intelligence develops, IGLTA delegates heard. Dougal Mckenzie, the tech giant’s industry head for travel, said:


“People can hold a smartphone up to a building. The camera will recognise it and give them details about prices and menus.” Mckenzie said more than half of searches were now on mobile,


and warned that a poor experience would send users elsewhere. Another speaker said social media channels were a key


consideration for companies targeting the LGBTQ+ market. Nicolas Graf, associate dean at NYU School of Professional Studies,


Jonathan M Tisch Center of Hospitality, said LGBTQ+ marketers were also using channels such as TripAdvisor and dating apps.


executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said: “Travel is different for transgender people, as we have additional concerns about ID documents, healthcare and facilities.” Keisling talked about


a “terrifying” experience crossing the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, along with another trans woman and her 80-year- old mother, as the officials took a long time to consider their documents. Toilet facilities are a further worry for transgender travellers, and Keisling said gender-neutral bathrooms were an important consideration. Transgender physicist Ophelia Pastrana urged delegates to talk to LGBTQ+ people online via social media channels such as YouTube, because of the problems faced by transgender people in the mainstream media. “TV does not reflect the


transgender community, but you can reach millions online,” she said. “LGBTQ youth go online to find information and advice about how to transition.”


Mara Keisling


2 May 2019travelweekly.co.uk15


PICTURES: OUTCOAST PHOTOGRAPHY/RACHEL COVELLO


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