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Tourism is one of the ten largest industries in the world. The size of the global leisure travel market is estimated at more than $2,000 billion this year and is expected to reach $2,677 billion by 2030. Of this volume, LGBT travelers account for 13%, while they only make up about 5-10% of the population.

This latter percentage is increasing due to the identification that GenZ in particular (and Millennials, and almost certainly also Gen Alpha) ascribes to themselves, so the volume of holiday expenditure in the LGBT group will certainly increase as soon as they also start traveling (more).

And for example, an Australian travel study shows that gays travel by plane 4.2 times as much as heterosexuals.

An interesting industry, and to manage this in the right direction, so-called DMOs were established everywhere a long time ago: Destination Marketing Organizations, also called CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau). They are urban, regional and sometimes national organizations to promote their area under the motto: ‘Come all’.

Rainbow Travelers

Within Marketing the Rainbow this is one of the most successful branches. I previously wrote about the pink travel industry in general, and the interest of both hotels (from the Mormon Marriott to the hip-chic Belmond) and airlines (from American Airlines to Icelandair) in this demographics. ‘Intermediaries’ such as Booking, Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, cruise operators (not only the successful gay operator Atlantis, but also the big boys), companies such as Avis and Hertz are also fully participating. Even public transport cheerfully dresses itself in rainbows (from Amsterdam’s GVB to the American Amtrak, Deutsche Bahn and Dublin Bus), while taxi services such as Uber and Lyft also try to show their most colorful side.

And with good reason: even several reasons. A trip already means a significant expenditure (more than a bottle of Coke), but as mentioned, LGBT people account for a relatively larger share of the volume: they spend up to 40% more per day, travel more often and stay longer. But a very important reason: they often travel outside the high season. This is especially important for congested destinations, where the pressure of tourism on daily life becomes too great. The latter certainly plays a role in Amsterdam. More about this next time.

But can you as a marketer, whether or not through a DMO, optimally position a destination so that it is also recognized as interesting for LGBT people?

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Sometimes a DMO knows how to present itself as a rainbow destination through clever marketing, without you thinking of it at first glance. We all know Amsterdam, Berlin, San Francisco, Tel Aviv and Barcelona, and for those in the know: Sitges, Provincetown, Russian River and Reykjavik. But there are many more cities and countries that claim that LGBT people are more than welcome – and safe.

For example, Bloomington, Indiana did this (indeed: who, what, where?). This was in the state where Mike Pence made a completely failed attempt to limit the rights of LGBT people based on religious freedom. See also my article ‘How Pence destroyed Indiana’: marketing meets politics meets social resistance. But Bloomington had already portrayed itself as gay-friendly years before and that could easily become a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. I haven’t been there yet, but I might have to check it out {googling Bloomington, IN…}.

Conditions

To be credible as a DMO that claims that you should mainly visit their city or region, a number of conditions must be met. In the survey I conducted among 3,200 consumers, one of the questions was ‘What are the most important considerations when choosing a holiday destination?’ I’ve split those considerations into two parts:

A. those that are LGBT related, and

B. general.

A.

In this segment, the straight population’s ratings weren’t very relevant, so I only looked at the LGBT responses. When the categories ‘important’ and ‘very important’ are added together, the highest scores are

• Established tolerance (69%)
• Perceived safety for LGBT (65%). Russian citizens may be very tolerant and welcoming, but that perception is completely lacking given their government policies. This also has to do with the customer journey Representation –> visibility –> normalization –> tolerance –> acceptance –> respect that I recently described here. If the government starts to ban representation and visibility, tolerance, let alone respect, will never be achieved.
• The presence of an LGBT community: associations, entertainment, sports, bars, clubs (48%).
• LGBT-friendly advertising (42%). This is very relevant for a DMO marketer, but also for the hotels and other establishments in the city. Advertising your destination as ‘gay friendly’ supports the positive impression and can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• The presence of an LGBT neighborhood (39%). This mainly concerns the ‘gayborhoods’, a phenomenon that is almost absent in the Netherlands, but which occurs in almost every major city. See also my article ’Real Estate’.
• Of less importance were Pride events (23%), pink film festivals (13%), circuit parties (11%, and even mentioned as a negative consideration by as many as 21%) and gay sporting events (10%).

B.

In this section we can see the differences between LGBT and non-LGBT. The red squares indicate a difference of more than 5% (the hetero value is higher). The green squares indicate a delta of more than 5% (the gay value is higher).

In a few categories the priorities are almost the same. It is relevant that the costs of getting there are considered much less important by LGBT people (71% as opposed to 81%). This means that gays are willing to spend more to go somewhere, bringing more and more expensive destinations within reach. They also seem to be less concerned about travel time (45% – 58%): this also indicates that they are willing to – literally – go the extra mile!

Social environment

In a next article I will tell you more about Amsterdam, their activities in the field of Marketing the Rainbow, but also factors that the city has less influence on. Because there are limits to the extent to which government agencies can support pink capital. In fact, it can even go the other way.

Such as the British policy that led to ‘Clause 28’ at the time. This was a 1988 Thatcher law that banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities in the UK. This forced many organizations, such as LGBT support groups, to close, limit or self-censor their activities. But libraries also had to take measures. Our own Boy George sang his protest song ‘No Clause 28’ about this, which starts with Thatcher’s quote from Spitting Image: ‘The aim of this government is to make everyone as miserable as possible’. The law was eventually abolished in 2003, but severely damaged the UK’s image as a rainbow destination.

The Polish ‘LGBT-free zones’, the Hungarian legislation on ‘traditional norms and values’ (go figure) and of course the increasingly restrictive legislation in Russia: these are examples of how you as a government can also engage in anti-rainbow marketing.

And just in case you thought this was pretty much over, last year, as governor of Florida, president-wannabe Ron DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” law that – under the excuse of ‘parents’ rights’ – prohibited the mention of non-heterosexuality in education. Because you have to protect children from the world out there, of course. Or at least keep them ignorant.

The signing ceremony is a bit reminiscent of something about the Hitler Youth, if you ask me. The reactions – read, the resistance – from Disney, among others, were very intense, but so far in vain. They were immediately punished for their opinions with tax measures. Artists such as Pink also contributed: she will give 2,000 copies of the most banned books to fans during her upcoming performances in Florida. The last word (= ‘gay’) has not yet been spoken there.

Stamps of approval

There have been a few ‘Stamps of approval‘, which recognize those parties that have proven to pass the gay-friendly test: hotels can be TAG-approved, a registered certification mark of Community Marketing, Inc., awarded to 1,800 hotels and attractions worldwide, or e.g. have a pink pillow in Berlin. Booking.com introduced the Travel Proud badge last year.

However, these stamps do not so much apply to destinations, but mainly to accommodations. Membership of the IGLTA (International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, est. 1983) or the GETA (Gay European Tourism Association) does provide a true ‘gay-friendliness indication’ for both accommodations and destinations. There are dozens of Dutch members, even in St. Eustatius.

Conclusion

The cards have not yet been shuffled. Although there are many destinations (and participants) in the travel world that have already earned their rainbow, this is changing and shifting. As a marketer, especially through a DMO, you can make a positive impression, which could even make Bloomington a top destination for LGBT. And there are even more points to score if you do the MarCom for a hotel, airline or car rental company.

Alfred Verhoeven is a marketer and is in the final phase of his PhD research Marketing the Rainbow. He previously wrote for ILOVEGAY about 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.