Toronto welcomes 500 tourism professionals for Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s Convention

 Friday, May 18, 2018 

The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s 35^th Anniversary Global Convention had taken place between 9^th and 12^th May at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto that brought together as many as 500 tourism professionals that represented 40 countries to share unique ideas and best practices making it the most attended and most internationally diverse conference in the history of IGLTA.

John Tanzella who is the IGLTA President mentioned that the numbers indicate that after 35 years their convention is not only extremely relevant but also the desire to engage and support LGBTQ travellers is expanding across the globe.

Their participants include the thought motivators of their market and would help IGLTA to advance LGBTQ travel internationally throughout the 2018 and beyond.

Among the highlights: Michael Kajubi, a gay tour operator in Uganda sharing his personal experiences on the ground in a country known for homophobia; Drew Cumpson, a ventilated quadriplegic gay man educating the industry on accessibility in travel; and in-depth looks at global travel data and trends, the intersection of human rights and tourism and responsible travel.

Voyage, the IGLTA Foundation benefit held at the Fairmont Royal York during the convention and presented by Disney Destinations, raised more than US$40,000 for education, research, and developing the next generation of LGBTQ travel professionals, making it the most successful IGLTAF fundraiser to date.

The event comprised an interview with Sharon Gless, Gale Harold, Peter Paige and Scott Lowell from the American-Canadian production of Queer As Folk and the presentation of IGLTA’s highest honor, the Pinnacle Award, to The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau. Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre and LGBTQ2 Liaison to Trudeau, accepted the award on the Canadian Prime Minister’s behalf.

Next year’s IGLTA Annual Global Convention will be held 24-27 April 2019 in at the Hilton New York City.

« Back to Page

• Tourism experts of Thailand are set to market Mr. Pita

• Proposed tourism levy in Wales expected to damage holiday sector

• Nepal needs to focus on sustainable tourism

• New Zealand government backs tourism and hospitality action plan

• The Bahamas PM considers tourism collaboration and funding