The recovery of the international tourism industry, catering to the LGBTQ+ segment, is a fact. 73% of tourists from this community, from countries such as the United States, Canada and Mexico, say they have plans to travel according to the latest International LGBT Tourism Association (IGLTA) Travel Survey. Subsequently, one of the main goals now is to ensure an optimal travel experience, through the awareness of employees in this industry. For this reason, Queer Destinations (QD) has carried out an awareness course for the staff of the hotel hosting the annual LGBTQ+ tourism convention this year, with the aim of improving tourist experience.

Queer Destinations is a global leader in the field, currently successfully leading the tourism recovery strategy for LGBTQ+ segments in countries such as Mexico. Within the framework of the IGLTA international convention in Atlanta, QD has expanded its operations to the United States as well. The certification of hotel staff consists of a 4-hour management training and awareness course, carried out days prior to the convention by the CEO, Oriol Pamies, who is also a member of the board of directors of the IGLTA.

IGLTA has been organising this annual meeting for 38 years to promote tourism for the community, as well as to provide resources and information for tourists, companies and host destinations in more than 80 countries around the world. This is the first time that the hotel hosting the IGLTA convention has received awareness training on how to improve good practices in terms of communication, treatment and reception of tourists from the community.

Oriol Pamies said, “being ‘QD certified’ is a guarantee for destinations and companies as well as a ‘must’ for the community tourist who seeks to enjoy an inclusive, safe and great experience. It is very strategic to work with the LGBTQ+ community to speed up the recovery of world tourism”. For this reason, Pamies celebrates that, for the first time, the hotel hosting the IGLTA convention has been fully prepared. Likewise, he has ensured that “the training and specialisation in diversity of professionals in the tourism sector is a growing market demand”.

Subsequently, the host hotel joins a list of destinations, hotels and service providers certified by Queer Destinations, a leading company in the development of strategies to promote LGBTQ+ tourism internationally. After signing an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Queer Destinations has already trained more than 15,000 tourism service providers across the country and expects to reach 100,000 providers before the end of the year. Queer Destinations also collaborates with brands such as Marriott, Hyatt, Meliá, Palladium and Hard Rock, as well as destinations in Mexico such as Los Cabos, Oaxaca and Morelos. Queer Destinations is in the process of expansion to countries such as Spain, Costa Rica and Colombia.