The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) will hold its annual convention this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, playing host to attendees from amongst the group’s 2,300 members and featuring five hundred local business participants in what has been dubbed “the Super Bowl of gay travel opportunities.”
Local hotelier and group member Karen Brown is one of 3,000 locals expected at the Friday night street fair in Wilton Manors to kick off the event. She is eagerly anticipating the chance to “educate, to learn, to see how the gay travel world has evolved with new technology, politics, new laws, travel habits, financial abilities;” and considering the distinct shift that has taken place in the global gay travel industry over the last decade, there will undoubtedly be plenty to cover.
According to the Miami Herald’s Gay South Florida report, American LGBT travelers spend over $45 billion annually – more than any other gay tourist demographic worldwide. Miami and Ft. Lauderdale rank among the top international destinations drawing those tourists. and the upcoming convention will address how to use this and other gay travel market statistics in the changing world of travel marketing.
The conference runs Tuesday through Sunday and hopes to welcome representatives from each of the 88 countries from which IGLTA members hail. John Tanzella, President and CEO of the organization, explains that membership in the IGLTA is equivalent to a seal of approval for gay travelers. “When they go to IGLTA’s website, they are going to find options that are interesting to them,” Tanzella said.
