by Paul Heney
Last updated: 2:55 PM ET, Thu July 18, 2019
The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA)'s 36th Annual Global Convention, held in New York City, was a rousing success, with nearly 700 delegates from 49 countries and territories. New York was a logical choice for the annual event, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, and IGLTA counts more than 60 local members.
Popular sessions included a roundtable discussion on small businesses, LGBTQ+ travelers in Asia, women in business, the evolving language of hospitality, and travel trends and tips. George Neary was given the Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award, ITB's LGBT+ Travel Pavilion won the Vanguard Award, and the Pioneer Award was bestowed on Fabrice Houdart, who works for Free & Equal, the United Nations campaign for LGBTI equality.
Ryan Walker of TheGayTripper.com was a first-time attendee of the Global Convention, and he described the event as almost a paradox.
"I got a sense for just how big the gay travel industry is-but also for how few people are responsible for making it all happen," he said.
Joey Amato, an Indianapolis-based publisher, had attended the IGLTA event in years past, and was pleased with how the event was run.
"I love IGLTA and think it is one of the most well-produced conferences in the LGBT industry. I reconnected with a lot of associates and met some new contacts as well that can lead to future business and/or destination reviews," Amato said.
And Walker liked the New York setting.
"Meeting in New York City opened up a lot of possibilities for collaboration and audience sharing. That alone was worth the cost of admission," he said. My opinion of IGLTA is already high-but they still managed to exceed expectations. The production value behind every lunch, dinner and cocktail hour was phenomenal. I think a lot of people in event planning will tell you it's easier to make everything go wrong-than everything go right. In New York City, with people from all around the world, I was surprised with how smoothly everything went. IGLTA always manages to impress."
One of the more concrete things that came out of the event was the development of a white paper, "Responsible Tourism Through the Lens of LGBTQ+ Travel." It is the result of the IGLTAF Leadership Think Tank that 25 destination executives participated in during the Global Convention.
Some of the insights garnered are managing destination demand through scheduling, promotion and tour operator collaboration; how mainstream destinations can benefit from expanding images of acceptance, encouraging LGBTQ+ welcoming activities and starting new activities; and ways to advocate for LGBTQ+ visitors and businesses.
"We could not be more proud of our first New York City convention, from content to collaboration," said IGLTA President/CEO John Tanzella. "Thanks in large part to the support of our host, NYC & Company, we were able to engage far more tourism businesses than ever before and showcase the world of LGBTQ+ travel in all its diversity."
For more information, visit iglta.org/research. The 2020 IGLTA Global Convention is scheduled for May 6-9, 2020 in Milan, Italy.
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