LGBTQ+ Travel Gains New Recognition After Long Challenging Evolution
Photo Credit: A collage created by Skift Creative Strategist Aishwarya Agarwal Aishwarya Agarwal
Skift Take
Despite the LGBTQ+ community's growing clout in the travel industry, many travelers in the rapidly growing segment still face enormous challenges. Here's a look at how Skift has covered the progress LGBTQ+ travelers have seen as well as the setbacks the group has encountered.
The LGBTQ+ travel market has grown enormously in recent years, becoming one of the most lucrative segments in the industry. LGBTQ+ travelers were worth an estimated $218 billion worldwide prior to the pandemic, with the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S. alone spending roughly 10 percent of its purchasing power on travel.
With their clout in the travel industry is poised to grow even more in years to come, it's a good time to examine how Skift has covered LGBTQ+ travel throughout the years. Skift Research said in a 2014 report that while LGBTQ+ travel might be booming, marketing strategies and diversity awareness were still evolving at a business level.
So have travel brands improved marketing to the LGBTQ+ community? How have travel companies responded to the needs of LGBTQ+ travelers? Are they running the risk of ignoring the market at their own peril as one travel executive indicated in a Skift guest column?
We provide answers to those questions as well
