Madrid, 19th January 2023.

Within the framework of the 2023 edition of Fitur, the Madrid International Tourism Fair, the Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués, has received recognition from Queer Destinations for his involvement, participation, responsibility, and development in the first National LGBTQ+ Tourism Strategy. The recognition has been presented by the founder of Queer Destinations, Oriol Pàmies, as an appreciation for the effort made to encourage different destinations in Mexico to commit to the LGBTQ+ community through training, awareness, safety, quality standards, and excellence. Values that Queer Destinations represents.

In February 2019, SECTUR signed an alliance with Queer Destinations together with the IGLTA (the International LGBTQ+ Tourism Association) with the aim of aligning a National LGBTQ+ Tourism Strategy that would serve adequately, respectfully, and inclusively the tourists from the community, through awareness plans and communication strategies. Currently, Mexico has 10 destinations that are working, in different phases, to become “Queer Destinations Committed”, among them are Los Cabos, Yucatán, Mexico City, Sonora, Hidalgo, Puebla, Guerrero, Mazatlán, Oaxaca and Zacatecas. Likewise, Mexico already has 12,500 tourist agents trained with the company’s Hospitality Meets Diversity Educational Program among more than 50 properties with corporates from MÍA, Mundo Imperial, Grupo Marriot, Meliá, Palladium, Hyatt, Avasa, and companies such as Hard Rock, Park Inn or Hostik.

For all this, the Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués shared: “This Secretariat under my charge, since 2019, has established a strategic alliance with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association and Queer Destinations, signing a Collaboration Agreement, which seeks to democratize the benefits of tourism for Mexicans, reduce the inequality of the population historically discriminated and strengthen the diversification of the country’s tourism offer“.

On the other hand, the founder of Queer Destinations, Oriol Pàmies, has declared that “the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico is being a pioneer in the development of national tourism strategies focused on the LGBTQ+ segment”, thus becoming “an example to be followed by countries like Spain where, within the same framework of FITUR, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism of Spain has signed a similar agreement with which it follows in the footsteps of Mexico in receiving tourists from the community through a responsible, sustainable and adapted to the needs and trends of the sector in the tourism market”.

Madrid, Tuesday 24th January 2023.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism (MINCOTUR), Reyes Maroto, has signed an international agreement with Oriol Pàmies, Founder of Queer Destinations and member of the IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association) board of directors to promote the first national tourism strategy focused on the LGBTQ+ segment. This institutional support pursues the objective of highlighting the leadership role of the Government of Spain and MINCOTUR in the design and promotion of new LGBTQ+ tourist experiences. As well as facilitating public-private relations and the training and awareness of tourist agents from all over the country.

Within the framework of the 43rd edition of the Madrid Tourism Fair (FITUR), Reyes Maroto wanted to highlight the commitment of the Government of Spain, MINCOTUR and Turespaña with the LGBTQ+ community. For this reason, she has assured that work will continue to “add values such as equality and diversity to the Turespaña brand“, and in “innovation so that LGBTQ+ tourists who visit Spain continue to be surprised, improve their experience and feel safe and free”. Likewise, she has added that “if I am the next mayoress of Madrid, the City Council will be the home of all Madrid residents to present MADO 2023“.

The signing of the public commitment has been presented by Miguel Sanz, General Director of Turespaña. In his speech, the Founder of Queer Destinations, Oriol Pàmies, assured that “Today is an important day for Spain with MINCOTUR’s desire to be part of the first national LGBTQ + tourism strategy.” Something that “will once again place Spain as one of the best destinations in the world for LGBTQ+ tourists.” Also, he added that “the comprehensive strategy will focus an important part of its focus on training and raising awareness of the tourism sector in order to receive the segment in an appropriate manner and in line with the international standards that Queer Destinations represents.”

Within the framework of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) held in the city of Madrid, AVASA, which operates exclusively in Mexico the car rental brands Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly, signed a Letter of Intent with Queer Destinations, in which it expresses its commitment to work in coordination for the awareness, training and accreditation of all its staff under international standards to serve the LGBTQ+ segment.

According to data from the World Tourism Organization, it is estimated that, at the current growth rate, the volume of the LGBTQ+ community will reach 180 million annual travelers by 2030. This is a tourist who, thanks to the general absence of kids, is characterized by a high spending capacity (DINK – double income, no kids) and with the possibility of traveling year-round, especially in low seasons.

“We are very excited about AVASA’s decision to initiate the implementation of the Queer Destinations distinctive. Such an important company in its industry, joins a global project supported by the main governments, destinations and companies in the world. The potential of this segment is undeniable and AVASA’s commitment not only opens up more possibilities to attract a greater number of clients, but also adds value to the brand as an inclusive company” – Oriol Pàmies (CEO, Queer Destinations)

Vicente Muñoz, AVASA’s CCO, stated: “We are filled with pride and expectations for the development of this new alliance that will undoubtedly mark a milestone in our daily operations, allowing us to increase and improve our customer service, and thus meet the most demanding expectations.”

The Queer Destinations distinction is internationally recognized and is awarded to service providers whose executives and collaborators have received a training process to prepare them to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ travelers, ensuring that they have the best conditions to receive an inclusive and respectful service.

AVASA is the largest and most important car rental company in Mexico with more than 50 years of experience in the car rental business. It has more than 150 offices located in beach destinations, cities and all commercial airports in the country. AVASA operates exclusively in Mexico the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands and the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program that has been multi-awarded worldwide as the best loyalty program for a car rental company.