Saskatoon is a very welcoming place

Our LGBTQ community is vibrant, diverse and deeply rooted, with a proud history.

Doug Wilson, one of Canada’s earliest and most prominent gay rights activists, publicly fought for the rights of LGBTQ people in the early 1970s. This pushed the University of Saskatchewan to change its policy on discrimination against gays and lesbians 15 years ahead of the Province.

Saskatoon hosted its first national gay conference in 1977, and Perceptions magazine began publishing in 1983, making it the longest-running LGBTQ publication in Canada.

Tourism Saskatoon has been actively involved with the Saskatoon Diversity Network over the past few years, marketing and promoting the Saskatoon Pride Festival, and working with the local LGBTQ community to promote LGBTQ travel to our friendly, spirited community.

Tourism Saskatoon prides itself on being the catalyst and facilitator for the growth of our tourism industry, and has long recognized the economic impacts of the annual $7-billion LGBTQ Canadian market spend.

There has been a dramatic shift in the vacationing habits of the LGBTQ market. In 2007, 42 per cent of this population were focused on gay-themed vacations. In 2011, only three per cent of this population were actively seeking gay themed vacations, with the other 97 per cent looking for mainstream vacations and welcoming destinations like Saskatoon. There are an estimated 1.8 million LGBTQ travellers within Canada that spend twice the amount when compared to others on vacation and leisure trips yearly, and take an average of nearly five trips per year.

Tourism Saskatoon’s industry development team has been working with Travel Gay Canada, the national gay and lesbian tourism industry association, which provides research and market development guidance for destination marketing organizations across the country.

After undertaking this two-year process, Tourism Saskatoon has been able to confidently place a focus on marketing to the LGBTQ traveler.

Tourism Saskatoon launched its Rainbow microsite the first week of May. The microsite highlights the city as an LGBT-friendly destination, and it features notes on Saskatoon’s LGBTQ history, community, Saskatoon Pride Festival, and other LGBT-friendly events and businesses.

Tourism Saskatoon will be traveling to World Pride in Toronto with Saskatoon Diversity Network Chair and Mr. Gay Canada 2013, Danny Papadatos, to take part in the World Pride International Travel Marketplace.

This fall, Tourism Saskatoon will facilitate Travel Gay Canada’s LGBTQ Diversity Training workshops with its members and other tourism-based community businesses who are interested in learning about serving and marketing to the LGBTQ traveler.

For more information please visit www.tourismsaskatoon.com/ rainbow.