Launch of first ever LGBT online training for travel agents
Launch of first ever LGBT online training for travel
agents
- Destinations at the forefront of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender) tourism marketing announce development of the
first ever specialist LGBT training for travel agents and tour
operators.
- World Travel Market welcomes this new product launch as a result
of powerful business connections made at the first-ever LGBT
Pavilion during World Travel Market 2012.
London, UK (OUTNOW) - January 8, 2013 -- Visit Helsinki, and
Tourismus & Congress Frankfurt have become the first
destination tourism offices to develop targeted training
specifically for travel agents and tour operators aimed at
increasing LGBT visitors to their cities.
The deals were struck at World Travel Market 2012. Visit Helsinki
was one of twelve companies that exhibited in the first-ever WTM
LGBT Pavilion.
The new training modules will be built and managed by the worldʼs
leading LGBT marketing firm Out Now Global, which organised the WTM
LGBT Pavilion.
It is the first time a specific LGBT-focused training content has
been available to mainstream travel agents.
The training modules will be launched in early 2013 in partnership
with WTM exhibitor OTT, the worldʼs largest provider of online
training for travel agents; and TTG Knowledge, as part of their
already comprehensive suite of training modules and courses.
A general LGBT awareness training module is also being made
available online at http://ott.travel/LGBT/home.aspx - giving
practical advice for agents to use when dealing with LGBT
customers.
The courses are being made available free of charge by Out Now
Business Class http://www.OutNowBusinessClass.com
- the world's leading LGBT networking association for global LGBT
tourism business development.
The new destination specific e-learning courses will be free for
all travel agents who have completed this initial course, and will
be marketed and available to a global network of over 60,000 travel
trade professionals through OTTʼs comprehensive database, and
promoted in leading travel trade journal the Travel Trade
Gazette.
The new training content is informed by Out Nowʼs LGBT2020
research - the worldʼs largest global research into LGBT people's
lives. That research reveals that a significant number of LGBT
tourists are now booking travel through mainstream travel agents
and tour operators.
Ian Johnson, CEO and founder of Out Now was quick to point out the
benefits for destinations who are investing in this new sales tool.
"This new initiative has the potential to expand the market reach
for LGBT sales substantially," Johnson said. "Travel agents and
tour operators now account for more than 30% of all LGBT sales in
most markets globally, so by providing specialist training and
relevant LGBT product information we are able to give our partner
destinations a much enhanced competitive edge. Thanks to OTT this
new training resource is being made available to an extensive
global network of more than 60,000 travel agents and tour
operators."
Research from the LGBT2020 study released at London World Travel
Market in November 2012 revealed that the global LGBT tourism spend
during 2013 will top USD$181 billion.
Marketing Manager at Visit Helsinki, Hanna Muoniovaara said:
"It is critical we build smart strategic partnerships. Out
Now Business Class is a well-designed and highly effective way for
us to strengthen our trade relationships to expand sales in the
LGBT market."
As well as featuring LGBT nightlife and festivals, each
destination-specific training module will highlight other key
activities and areas of interest to LGBT travellers. The importance
of cuisine, local history, museums, art galleries, walking,
beaches, mainstream nightlife, as well as art and events have all
been analysed for each partner destination based on ranking the
relevant importance of each for respondents to the LGBT2020 global
research study when they travel. The incorporation of this
information into the bespoke training modules for each destination
not only helps agents understand which are a destinationʼs key
assets for this market, but also shows insight and affinity with an
audience that has become bored by cliched approaches to marketing
and advertising. Agents learn about gay neighbourhoods, local
nightlife options and a range of other relevant information of
great interest to most LGBT travellers.
The new training program partnerships are just one of a number of
new LGBT initiatives that resulted from the first ever LGBT
pavilion at World Travel Market. Out Now Business Class - Out Nowʼs
new B2B LGBT networking association - gathered exhibiting partners
together at the trade show to showcase the very latest developments
and destinations in LGBT tourism globally.
"World Travel Market's main focus is to facilitate business for
its exhibitors. I am delighted that an industry-first deal has been
negotiated and concluded at WTM to the benefit of four of our
exhibitors," Reed Travel Exhibitions Chairman World Travel Market
Fiona Jeffery said.
The new general LGBT training module is available online now and
the specialist destination modules will be available to more than
60,000 OTT travel agents and tour operators, free of charge, from
early 2013.
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Media contact:
Darren Cooper, Out Now, darren.cooper@OutNowConsulting.com
About Out Now
Established in 1992, Out Now is the world's leading LGBT marketing
organization and has for two decades been relied upon by many of
the world's leading brands, organisations and tourism bodies for
specialized gay and lesbian marketing insight and expertise.
Services include research, training, strategy and
communications.
Out Now clients include IBM, Toyota, Citibank, German National
Tourist Office, TUI, Lufthansa, Berlin Tourism Marketing, Vienna
Tourist Board, Visit Manchester, Stockholm Visitors Board and
Lloyds TSB Banking Group.
About OTT
OTT was established in 2007 to bring the most advanced and
innovative training programmes to the UK retail travel sector. From
November 2012 the company has re-branded itself as OTT and has
expanded to now offer over 120 courses across the globe, providing
courses in any language to any region. The training provider
has won seven UK trade awards in the last three years and has grown
to 70,000 global members. Renowned for its innovation, product
delivery and excellent customer service, OTT's prestigious client
base includes British Airways, Easyjet, Disney, Kuoni, P&O
Cruises, TUI UK and Virgin Atlantic.
About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel
industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business
exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
Almost 48,000 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.
WTM, now in its 33rd year, is the event where the travel industry
conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM 2010 generated £1,653 million of travel industry contracts,
revealed independent research by Fusion Communications.
WTM is owned by the worldʼs leading events organiser Reed
Exhibitions (RE), which organises a portfolio of other travel
industry events including Arabian Travel Market and International
Luxury Travel Market.
In 2010, RE held more than 460 events in 36 countries bringing
together more than seven million people from around the world
generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Travel Exhibitions.
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the worldʼs leading provider of
exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry. Its wide-ranging
portfolio of events around the globe covers leisure travel, luxury
travel, business travel and the meetings and incentives
industry.
The 13 events are; World Travel Market (WTM), Arabian Travel Market (ATM), International French Travel Market (IFTM), La Cumbre, International Golf Travel Market (IGTM), International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), International Luxury Travel Market Asia (ILTMA), Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) (owned by Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau), Global Exhibition for Incentive, Business Travel, and Meetings (EIBTM), Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (GIBTM), Americas Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (AIBTM), China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (CIBTM) and Business Travel Market.
2012 sees the launch of two exciting new events with The Spa
& Wellness Summit taking place in Austria Tyrol (10-12
September) and ILTM Americas launching in Mayakoba, Mexico (1-3
October).
Furthermore, April 2013 will see RTE launch World Travel Market
Latin America in São Paulo, Brazil (23-25 April).
In 2011 RTEʼs 13 events were the catalyst for £2,807 million worth
of travel and tourism business deals.
RTE is a business unit of Reed Exhibitions.
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