26 SPECIAL FEATURE
26 SPECIAL FEATURE ADVERTORIAL LGBT “Venice of America” Emphasises Transgender Market John Tanzella President of IGLTA Somewhere Over the Rainbow LGBT travel remains a strong niche tourism segment in the USA as more States and cities target gay and lesbian travellers According to John Tanzella, President of IGLTA, the dynamism of the LGBT travel goes unabated, and the US market is still far from maturity. The interest of US destinations towards the gay and lesbian market is due to their enormous potential. “We do not have precise numbers but we estimate that there are 60 to 70 million LGBT travellers around the world,” says Tanzella. “In the USA alone, we estimate it around 7 to 8 million travellers. And they generally spend money…” LGBT travel continues indeed to go to “traditional” gay destinations in the USA such as San Francisco, New York, Key West or Provincetown. “They are iconic destinations for generations of LGBT. Particularly San Francisco and New York, which are part of the gay movement’s history. But next to them, we see emerging destinations such a Washington DC, Atlanta or Fort Lauderdale. Or even a city such as Detroit, which has a vibrant LGBT community and today considers the gay market as a travel segment able to revitalize the city’s image”, adds Tanzella. Some even venture into new niche markets. “Fort Lauderdale in Florida is an interesting case. We are talking there about a well-established gay/lesbian destination that is now targeting the transgender market. There is St Petersburg in Florida. The city is also well known for its massive gay pride, the largest in Florida and the second busiest in the USA. By welcoming the LGBT Annual Convention in 2017, St Petersburg looks at reassuring its position”, Tanzella concludes. The IGLTA President predicts that another coming trend will be for some destinations to target LGBT seniors as the next consumer “niche”. Fort Lauderdale The “Venice of America” is focusing on the transgender market. After completing one of the first (and definitely the largest) surveys in North America to identify travel priorities, The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau discovered their city had the highest concentration of samesex couple households in USA. And it is a destination chosen by the LGBT community for its gay-owned businesses. Now it’s time to recognise the potential of transgenders in the market. “We have long understood gay and lesbian travellers, but we recognise now is the time to emphasise the importance of the transgender market and ensure it is not forgotten,” said Richard Gray, MD for the LGBT market at GFLCVB. Greater Fort Lauderdale has undergone many changes summarised as “new skyline, new vibe, energetic, active place to participate” and that seems to have paid dividends. Last year, Greater Fort Lauderdale had the highest visitor occupancy (80%) in the state. The city famous as a “Spring Break hotspot” wants to be a destination for all ages, aided by high-end resorts such as Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton. Also new is the US7m, 349- room Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort on the boardwalk. More than US4m in hotel development is expected. A US.3bn expansion and runway extension at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport leads transport renovations. And another US.6bn in improvements will accommodate 5.6 million annual passenger moves by 2033. Port Everglades is home to two of the largest cruise ships and nearly 50 others. Its inland canals have given Greater Fort Lauderdale the nickname the “Venice of America” but its future may rest on rails. The Bright High Speed Railway, opening 2017, will run along a four-city, 235-mile route-- Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando (just three hours to end-to-end). Hall 2.1 / Stand 480 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Saturday 12 th March 2016 www.itb-berlin-news.com
EUROPE REGION 27 The European Travel Market MAIN TRAVEL DESTINATION Latest facts and figures from IPK’s World Travel Monitor OUTBOUND TRAVEL In total, Europe counts around 740 Million inhabitants and the largest populations can be found in Russia (about 140 million) and Germany (about 81 million), followed by France and UK (about 65 million each). The individual buying power is high in Northern, Western and Central Europe, medium in Southern Europe and still rather low in Eastern European countries. In total, Europeans undertook 444 million international trips (with overnights) in the year covered by the report. Mean length of stay abroad was 7.9 nights per trip and mean spending per trip was 825 Euro. With an average growth rate per year of 2 to 3% over the last years, Europe has a moderately growing outbound rate, yet on a high volume-level. The biggest European outbound travel market is Germany with a share of 17% of all European outbound trips followed by Great Britain (14%) and France (8%). The by far most outbound trips of the Europeans are to destinations within Europe (85%), 7% travel to Asia-Pacific, 4% each to the Americas and Africa. 86% of European outbound travel is for holiday and other leisure motivations, whereas 14% are business trips. Most popular outbound holiday types are sun & beach holidays (33%), city trips (21%) and tours (18%). The main motives for outbound holiday trips are relaxing, a good cuisine, sightseeing, shopping, sunbathing and swimming. 51% of European outbound travelers go abroad by plane and 31% travel by car. 56% of travelers stay at hotels with a clear preference for upper class hotels (about 60% of hotel stays). Regarding the information and booking behavior, the internet TRAVEL DESTINATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS (MARKET SHARE) Italy 9% UK 7% France 11% Austria 6% Germany 13% Turkey 6% Spain 14% Other 34% as an information source (76%) but also as a booking site (64%) has a very high importance. In contrast, travel agencies are less important as information source (27%) and also as booking site (21%). INBOUND TRAVEL European destinations welcome around 411 million international overnight visitors per year. The average spending per visitor in Europe is about 800 Euro per trip and the mean length of stay is about 7 nights. The most visited travel destinations in Europe are Spain (14%) and Germany (13%), followed by France (11%) and Italy (9%). Also UK (7%), as well as Austria and Turkey (6% each) are important destinations for international travelers to Europe. 85% of the international visitors to Europe come for holiday / leisure and 15% for a business purpose. The main holiday types in relation to Europe are tours and city trips (40%) followed by sun & beach holidays (31%). 50% of international visitors to Europe come by plane, 32% come by car, 8% by bus and 6% came by train. The preferred accommodation type of international visitors in Europe is the hotel with a 56% share, of which 60% are spent in the upper class category. Most visitors to Europe come from Europe itself (89%). Major markets of origin are Germany (17%), UK (11%), France (6%) and the Netherlands (5%). Source: IPK International – World Travel Monitor ® , a unique database for international tourism demand, based on 500,000 interviews annually worldwide. For further information, please contact info@ipkinternational.com or visit www. ipkinternational.com EUROPE ALBANIA HALL 1.2 / 214 AUSTRIA HALL 17 / 103 BELGIUM HALL 10.2 / 104 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA HALL 1.2 / 213 BULGARIA HALL 15.1 / 101 CYPRUS HALL 2.2 / 111, 111A CZECH REPUBLIC HALL 7.2B / 102A-B DENMARK HALL 18 / 128A ESTONIA HALL 18 / 126C FINLAND HALL 18 / 128B FRANCE HALL 2.2 / 201, 201A GERMANY HALL 12 / 102 GIBRALTAR HALL 2.2 / 114 GREECE HALL 2.2 / 101 GUERNSEY HALL 18 / 124 HUNGARY HALL 2.2 / 209 ICELAND HALL 18 / 128C IRELAND HALL 4.1 / 104 ITALY HALL 1.2 / 125-127 JERSEY HALL 18 / 124 LATVIA HALL 18 / 126A LIECHTENSTEIN HALL 17 / 102 LITHUANIA HALL 18 / 126B LUXEMBOURG HALL 10.2 / 101 MACEDONIA HALL 1.2 / 201 MALTA HALL 1.2 / 222 MOLDOVA HALL 7.2B / 104 MONTENEGRO HALL 1.2 / 221 NETHERLANDS HALL 10.2 / 102 NORWAY HALL 18 / 128D - HALL 16 / 102 POLAND HALL 15.1 / 100 PORTUGAL HALL 2.2 / 208A-D ROMANIA HALL 7.2B / 101A-C SERBIA HALL 2.2 / 211 SLOVAKIA HALL 7.2B / 103 SLOVENIA HALL 17 / 109 SWEDEN HALL 18 / 128E SWITZERLAND HALL 17 / 101,101A-C TURKEY HALL 3.2 / 201 UNITED KINGDOM HALL 18 / 118, 120, 121, 123, 125, 127A ITB BERLIN NEWS • Saturday 12 th March 2016
