Fort Lauderdale, FL (17 May – International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, 2016)—The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, the leading memberbased global organization dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender tourism, announced today its organizational partnership with the European Travel Commission, an association uniting 32 European national tourist offices with the aim of promoting Europe as a tourism destination in long-haul markets.
The announcement was timed in honor of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, a global celebration of sexual and gender diversity. IGLTA and ETC are committed to a world where all travelers feel welcome, regardless of their orientation or gender identity and share in the goal of strengthening the tourism industry at large.
“When you look at the timeline of LGBT-positive legislation and marriage equality, you see the majority of destinations paving the way are European,” says John Tanzella, IGLTA President/CEO. “We want to support our longtime tourism allies, and look forward to working more closely with the ETC in promoting LGBT-welcoming travel to the many diverse and interesting destinations throughout Europe.”
“Europe is a welcoming destination that embraces diversity, and ETC is working closely with its member NTOs to ensure that the European values of equality and tolerance are reflected in our image as a tourism destination,” said Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of ETC. “Our partnership with IGLTA is a pillar in our long-term strategy to enhance the competitiveness of the European tourism sector.” For more information on IDAHOT, visit dayagainsthomophobia.org.
About IGLTA
The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association is the leading member-based global organization dedicated to LGBT tourism and a proud Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. IGLTA’s mission is to expand LGBT tourism globally for the benefit of travelers and its members. The association also is a proud supporter of ECPAT’s Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct to prevent child exploitation. IGLTA membership includes LGBT and LGBT-friendly accommodations, destinations, service providers, travel agents, tour operators, events and travel media in 80 countries. For more information: iglta.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @iglta.
About ETC
The European Travel Commission is an association of National Tourism Organisations (NTOs). It was created in 1948 to promote Europe as a tourist destination to the long-haul markets outside of Europe, originally in the USA and later in Canada, Latin America and Asia. It currently has 32 member NTOs, including 8 from outside the European Union.
Europe is the world’s no. 1 tourist destination with 609 million international arrivals in 2015 and more than 51.4% of the market share of worldwide tourism. For further information: ETC’s corporate website www.etc-corporate.org is aimed at industry, government and educational personnel interested in tourism to Europe. Tourists seeking travel-specific information and ideas are directed to ETC’s consumer portal www.visiteurope.com.
