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In Spain they know: it is a good idea to open up to LGBT tourists: they travel more often, stay longer, spend more and often travel outside the high season. This has not gone unnoticed at many destinations. Spain has been a leader in this area for years.

The Dutch Tourist Board was an early participant (from 1993, and in 2009: Everyone’s Gay in Amsterdam) and amsterdam&partners also contributed briefly (2004, I Amsterdam), but the attempts were half-hearted and short-lived. term.

Last week I described how the Spanish national government is practicing Marketing the Rainbow. Public-private partnerships not only take place in the construction of tunnels or toll roads, but also in Marketing the Rainbow. Here are some more examples about collaboration with and initiatives from local authorities and the business community.

The rise of LGBT Spain

In 2006, PlanetOut named Spain ‘Destination of the Year’ for LGBT travelers at the international Gay and Lesbian Travel Association convention. One of the reasons was the introduction of ‘gay marriage’* in 2005. It confirmed Spain’s reputation as a holiday destination where people can feel relaxed about their sexuality, sometimes in a way that is not possible at home (think: US, especially before 2015).

Madrid

This in turn led to increased interest in events such as Madrid Pride, which grew in numbers to 2 million visitors – 35% of whom were foreign tourists – becoming the largest gay pride in Europe, contributing €400 million in just 5 days for the local economy. The slogan was ‘Ames a quien ames, Madrid te quiere’, which means ‘Whoever you love, Madrid loves you’.

It has also become the largest periodic event in Spain and was awarded the title ‘Best Gay Event in the World’ by LOGO/MTV. I was there about 5 times, and although it can be hot in Madrid in early July, it was indeed spectacular. And hot, so. In the photo on the right the Gran Vía in a festive mood.

The website Madrid Orgullo claims that Madrid is the LGBT capital of Spain, has 500,000 gays across the region, with around 600 businesses catering almost exclusively to LGBT people, and that the city hosts 350 recreational, cultural and sporting events annually for the community offers. The Madrid region is visited by 3 million LGBT guests every year.

Barcelona

Event organizers in Barcelona did not leave this behind and chose to create another festival: Circuit. After some setbacks and teething problems, the number of visitors for this two-week event grew to 71,000 in 2015, generating an estimated €150 million for the local economy. During this period, Barcelona is plastered with posters of male models advertising parties aimed at gay visitors. Shops display signs advertising special offers, from sunbeds to free gym passes, as the city is taken over by clubbers and especially the famous pool parties (pictured right). After eight years, the festival expanded to Ibiza, Canary Islands and Miami in 2016, to meet the increasing demand for gay (and to a lesser extent lesbian) events.

And the winner is…

In late 2015, the media reported that Spain was ‘winning the battle for gay tourists’. According to a report by LGBT Capital, an investment firm based in the British Virgin Islands that focuses on gay-themed assets, LGBT visitors contribute approximately $6.8 billion to the Spanish economy, surpassing France as Europe’s top destination (6 .6 billion) and also significantly exceed the United Kingdom (4.8 billion). The US is the world leader with a turnover of $21.5 billion. That country is many times larger: the population is by a factor of 5, so relatively speaking Spain is also doing very well.

NB: these figures are from 2015. There has been significant growth since then, but there has also been a decline due to corona. In 2016 it was reported: Tourism has generally increased by almost 12% in recent years. There is even better news for gay tourism, which is up about 28% compared to 2015 and 34% higher than the average figures of previous summers. More recent figures differ quite a bit, but for example Torremolinos alone reported an LGBT income of 350 million this year. The role of Torremolinos is described in last week’s article about ‘The Postage Stamp’, which generated earned media of 800,000 euros.

Another important qualification was added: gays spend about 30% more on average than regular tourists in Spain, according to government estimates, boosting an economy in which tourism accounts for 12% of jobs.

It’s a win-win situation.

By the way, when we got married in 2007, my husband and I chose to plan our honeymoon in a country where we could also get married. At that moment the choice was between Belgium (beautiful, but too close), South Africa (just a little too far away), Canada (the same, and then also the time difference) and Spain. It was Spain, and it was great: upgrade to the honeymoon suite and all that…

Conclusion

Spain has committed itself as a country, together with regional organizations and entrepreneurs, to ensure that LGBT travelers feel at home and safe there. The government also has a Minister of Equality who does not hesitate to speak out about abuses. They were one of the very first countries to allow ‘gay marriage’ and facilitate huge LGBT-specific events. They score a big 9/10.

* I always put this in quotes because it is identical to a heterosexual marriage, but when introduced in the Netherlands in 2001 it was officially called “opening up civil marriage to couples of the same sex” and that’s quite a mouthful. To indicate that it concerns such couples, I use ‘gay marriage’.

Alfred Verhoeven is a marketer and is in the final phase of his PhD research Marketing the Rainbow. He previously wrote for ILOVEGAY about How Spain markets itself as rainbow destination, Everyone’s gay in Amsterdam, I Amsterdam, Gay Capital, The Ideal Traveler, Diversity & Language, Playing with Pronouns, Abercrombie & Fitch : The Rise & The Fall, Play the gayme: about SIMS and Candy Crush, Diversity in Toys, LEGO does the rainbow, Barbiemania, Bud Light and the 4 bln dollar woman, Dutch retailer HEMA loves everybody, Pronouns, About those rainbows, Alphabet soup, M&M’s and the lesbian invasion, Magnum and the lesbian wedding, Marketing the Rainbow: the process and all that came before it, Sport and (un)sportmanship,  Why you need a supplier diversity program, BeNeLux LGBTIQ+ Business Chamber (BGLBC), From B2C and B2B to B2G and G2G (oh, and G2C), The Men from Atlantis, The other kind of cruising, Booking.com, Home Deco, Haters and trolls: the ‘letter to the editor’ of the 21st century, 5 Bizarre LGBT Videos, TRANSparency, Transgender persons as a target group, Matchmaking, 5 videos that went viral, From Representation To Respect, Cultural sensitivities and social involvement in marketing, 4 reasons to practice diversity and The Rules of Market Segmentation.