Travel companies look for opportunity at Mexico LGBT event
Hoping for a bigger piece of a lucrative pie, Mexico has increasingly focused on the growing LGBT tourism market.
Seizing on the momentum, travel will take a center stage at Mexico’s fifth LGBT Confex International Forum, being held in Merida, Mexico on Sept. 18 and 19.
The annual forum aims to educate companies about the LGBT community, and many sectors of the travel industry, from hotel brands to tourism ministers, will be on hand to learn more about opportunities within the segment.
The LGBT sector accounted for 3 million out of a total of 29.1 million international visitors to Mexico in 2014, but they have demonstrated considerable buying power.
“In terms of tourism, the segment is estimated to spend almost 50% more than heterosexual travelers,” said Ruben Sandoval, CEO of LGBT Confex. “Participants of the LGBT Confex International Business Forum are not necessarily of the community but are those businesses that want to know about it and target it in their promotional campaigns.”
Sandoval said that 65% of the participants who will attend the conference “identify as straight but come to the forum, not only to sell but also to position themselves within the market, be trained and take advantage of networking opportunities. Many of our participants have been with us in the past because they have seen the importance of this market in their own corporations.”
Confirmed exhibitors this year include the CVBs of Saltillo and Monterrey, the ministries of tourism of the states of Guerrero, Veracruz and Puebla, the Hampton Inn by Hilton in Merida, Hotel Alamandas in Costalegre, Hotel Casa Velas Boutique in Puerto Vallarta, Hotel Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun, the Riviera Maya and Vallarta, JW Marriott properties in Mexico City (two) and Cancun and the Casa Magna Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta, and Mexitours/Leemba Travel and Gay Travel Guide.
The 15 speakers at this year’s forum were hand selected for their initiatives in positioning the LGBT market in cultural initiatives and the corporate world, according to Sandoval.
They include representatives from Marriott International, Jose Cuervo, and the Workplace Equality Program of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, among others.
LGBT Confex has been held in Puerto Vallarta twice and once each in Cancun and Guadalajara.
Fuente: Travel Weekly
Hoping for a bigger piece of a lucrative pie, Mexico has increasingly focused on the growing LGBT tourism market. Seizing on the momentum, travel will take a center stage at Mexico’s fifth LGBT Confex International Forum, being held in Merida, Mexico on Sept. 18 and 19. The annual forum aims to educate companies about the LGBT…