— Latest global LGBT travel market valuation released at WTM

— New Travel Agents LGBT Certification Program Launched at WTM London

The global value of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travel market has continued to grow and is now worth over USD$211 billion in LGBT consumer spending per year, reveals research released at WTM London today (Tuesday 8 November).

New international research undertaken in 2016 from the LGBT2030 program by specialist consulting firm Out Now reveals continuing expansion in key LGBT markets across the world.

Ian Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Out Now, presented the findings at the LGBT Masterclass education workshop at World Travel Market, London.

“The global LGBT market continues to be one of healthy growth and opportunities for a growing number of travel industry participants,” Johnson says. “However the LGBT consumer market continues to raise its expectations and there is much work to be done by the industry in the areas of communications improvements, strategy development, training and quality assurance for LGBT travellers. LGBT people expect the same level of welcome and respect as all people do when they travel. The new 2016 valuations of this market show that targeting LGBT customers is not only the right thing to do – it is also smart business.”

Johnson also announced the launch of a new global training and certification program for travel agents wanting to increase their sales from LGBT tourism. This new program by Out Now partners with leading US-based tourism website TravelMarketReport.com and is able to train and certify more than 20,000 travel agents in North America and in markets across the world.

The agreement between Out Now and Travel Market Report was concluded at World Travel Market London in 2015 so the two companies said they were delighted to launch this new Learn.LGBT training program —  http://Learn.LGBT — for travel agents at WTM London this year.

Anne Marie Moebes, Executive Vice President of Travel Market Report said: “Travel Market Report is honored to partner with Out Now on the first ever  LGBT training and certification program for travel agents. This important and valuable segment  is of great interest to many of our readers who are seeking proper training so that they can serve and earn the trust of LGBT consumers when booking their vacation and travel plans.”

The latest data from Out Now’s LGBT2030 global research program shows an annual average growth rate for each of the past three years of 2.0% per year.

Two markets – Italy and Argentina – experienced negative growth in LGBT travel consumer spend during this period.

	COUNTRY	(USD$bn) 2016	AV ANN. GROWTH RATE
	USA	60.8	2.5
	Brazil	26.4	1.4
	Japan	20.4	1.1
	Mexico	10.7	2.3
	Germany	13.3	1.1
	Turkey	6.2	3.4
	France	11.2	0.6
	UK	11.3	2.5
	Italy	9.0	-0.4
	Spain	6.8	0.6
	Colombia	4.9	4.7
	Argentina	4.2	-0.2
	Poland	4.4	2.7
	Canada	6.9	2.2
	Australia	6.5	2.3
	Netherlands	2.9	0.4
	Israel	1.3	2.8
	India (part)	4.1	5.7
		211.3	2.0

The LGBT2030 data is sourced from consumer responses from a research panel of over 130,000 participants. The data above reflects responses received in 2016 from respondents in each of the 18 listed countries – being the most viable and accessible LGBT markets for the global travel industry. It shows total spend on travel by LGBT people living in each country listed. (India includes only those with internet access.)

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About World Travel Market London

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Almost 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM London. WTM London is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals. WTM London will generate around £2.5 billion of travel industry contracts. WTM London is part of Reed Travel Exhibition’s World Travel Market events, which also includes Arabian Travel Market, World Travel Market Latin America and World Travel Market Africa.  www.wtmworld.com

About Out Now

Out Now http://outnowconsulting.com has been named one of the ‘Top 10 Diversity Consultants’ in the world in the Global Diversity List, supported by The Economist and develops LGBT marketing solutions utilising a range of strategies including: gay and lesbian market research, LGBT niche media, online internet activities, tailored gay and lesbian advertising, targeted LGBT and mainstream public relations as well as below-the-line marketing activities to develop, and implement, integrated strategies for clients that deliver highly successful results. The firm trains and certifies hotels globally at http://Welcome.LGBT consumer site. Out Now clients include IBM, Toyota, Lufthansa, German National Tourist Office, Switzerland Tourism, Turespaña and Hilton Hotels. In 2016, Out Now celebrates 25 years of market leadership in developing business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing relationships with LGBT people. The company undertakes the world’s largest LGBT market research program LGBT2030 www.LGBT2030.com which has sampled to date over 100,000 LGBT people living in 24 countries worldwide. ONBC – Out Now Business Class http://OutNowBusinessClass.com – is the world’s largest LGBT tourism trade networking association.