The IGLTA hosted its inaugural Cape Town workshop and networking event for existing and prospective members at the Cape Royale yesterday.
The South African Ambassador to the IGLTA, David Ryan, opened the meeting and introduced the speakers, which included Rudi Wagenaar from Inspirational Places who is also an IGLTA member, and Ross Bowers, the Marketing Manager at Rhino Africa Safaris.
According to David, the LGBT market now makes up close to 7 % of the North American population and this includes people with a high propensity for travel. That’s nearly 40 million people – almost the entire population of South Africa!
David emphasised a need for businesses and individuals in the travel industry in South Africa to work together in order to leverage the gay and lesbian travel market. Many overseas gay and lesbian travellers, especially Americans, associate the problems in places like Uganda with the rest of Africa. This causes a great deal of uncertainty when travelling to Africa and accordingly those travellers seek out the reassurance of the IGLTA. The IGLTA Member Directory is often the first port of call. Many gay and lesbian travellers are also keen to support LGBT businesses and the IGLTA logo helps point them in the right direction.
As South Africans we know what a liberal constitution we have and how welcoming and tolerant Cape Town is as a destination, but not everyone knows this.
David stressed that the IGLTA is an association and as with any association, you get out what you put in. The IGLTA does not exist to market individual businesses but rather provides businesses with the tools and know how to access and connect with the gay and lesbian travel market. In other words, your $300 membership fee is not a marketing budget in itself.
The IGLTA in South Africa hopes to promote South Africa as a gay-friendly destination. Cape Town is not among the top 5 most visited cities for American or European gay and lesbian travellers. Instead cities like Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Sao Paolo, London and Paris reign for US travellers. Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Las Vegas, Miami and the Greek Islands are top of the tree for Europeans. The IGLTA South Africa is keen to see Cape Town in that top 5 list and also to bring the annual convention to Cape Town in the next few years.
David added that one of the best ways to optimise your membership is to attend the annual IGLTA Convention. A key sentiment at this year’s Convention was that the gay and lesbian travel segment is no longer a ‘niche market’. “The IGLTA is here to stay and what’s more, it’s growing exponentially,” he said.
Next year’s Convention takes place in Florianopolis, Brazil from 12-14 April 2012. Last year the Convention was held in Fort Lauderdale – the city did itself proud and really proved itself as a world-class gay and lesbian travel destination.
Rhino Africa’s Ross Bowers went on to discuss how to optimise your membership, especially on the IGLTA website and through your online profile, as well as other marketing opportunities available to members.
View Ross’s presentation here:
Watch the short video on how to optimise your IGLTA Membership:
How To Join!
You can apply to join as either a General or Associate Member – find out more about the different kinds of membership and other details on the IGLTA website. You can apply online here. We have negotiated a special discount for South African members of the travel industry for General Membership, valid until the end of December 2011. Save up to $660 per property/business and pay only $300 for annual membership. The $100 one time application fee is waived for South African travel businesses. Apply online with the special promo code – GROUP-SOUTH AFRICA.
Marketing Opportunities
In addition to 2200 member businesses, IGLTA works with over 7000 consumers on a global level to educate the LGBT traveller on welcoming businesses, hot new destinations and all the offerings our members put out there. There are so many opportunities including web banners, e-mail blasts, newsletter sponsorship, search sponsorship, brochure distribution and advertising in the membership directory. You can find all the detailed information that you need on the IGLTA marketing page online.
The Cape Royale Sky Bar
After the workshop the guests and speakers made their way up to the roof of the Cape Royale – known as the Sky Bar, a great open air place to have drinks and snacks with views of Table Mountain, the Greenpoint Stadium and the ocean and city beyond. Members and potential future members mingled over delicious wine provided by DeMorgenzon Wine Estate, dished out by the Wine Fairy, Katie Barratt, and tasty canapés.
A Special Thanks
A special thank you needs to go out to the Cape Royale Hotel for hosting the event and to Cape Town Tourism for supporting the IGLTA workshop. We’re looking forward to expanding the IGLTA and working with some new faces!
Keen to experience the Cape Royale Hotel and Sky Bar yourself? Contact us and we can help book you an amazing Cape Town vacation that includes this luxury accommodation, as well as other exciting options.
Wow, this is f a n t a s ti c !1st ever workshop in Africa!
Fantastic, great job and excellent blog about the event too!