Kentville Visitor Centre now Rainbow Registered
Designation ensures a safe and welcoming environment for LGBT+ visitors
The tourism appeal of the Annapolis Valley is easy to see with the wineries, scenery, arts and culture.
In addition to the region’s natural appeal, another vital component to tourism marketing is ensuring potential visitors know they are coming to a safe and welcoming environment.
Providing a warm welcome for all visitors is a priority at the Kentville Visitor Centre. That’s why the centre became the first in Atlantic Canada to obtain the Rainbow Registered designation from Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC).
“When people are making travel decisions they will choose places where they know they are going to be welcomed, accepted and safe,” says Lindsay Young, community and economic development co-ordinator for the Town of Kentville.
Rainbow Registered is a national accreditation for 2SLGBTQI+ friendly businesses and organizations. It grants a time-limited recognition to businesses and organizations for demonstrating compliance, and accredited businesses are deemed market ready for 2SLGBTQI+ customers. They have the right to use the program’s Rainbow Registration designation mark in their business or storefront.
The centre obtained the registration last September, after Young and two other staff members – visitor centre manager Susan Carey and visitor counsellor MaKayla Boutilier – completed an assessment and training process that spanned a number of months. The training included webinars, Zoom meetings, written materials and online resources.
“We were not exactly starting from scratch,” Young explains. “Accessibility and inclusion have long been top priorities here, so this was not our first foray into that area.”
There is no cost to a business or organization to obtain the Rainbow Registration. They have to meet a stringent set of standards to ensure LGBT+ customers feel safe, welcome and accepted.
“You don’t have to be perfect to get your accreditation,” Young says. “You have to show that you are meeting a certain baseline standard and then they will work with you to raise your overall standard.”
Canada is home to more than 100,000 LGBT+ owned businesses, according to CGLCC website. These businesses generate more than
$22 billion in economic activity, employing more than 435,000 Canadians.
While support for LGBT+ initiatives is on the rise, LGBT+ entrepreneurs still face barriers. Nearly half have hidden who they are in business dealings to avoid losing opportunities and more than a third have lost opportunities due to being LGBT+.
Young says she learned a great deal by going through the Rainbow Registration process, including ways to intervene in a potentially unsafe or hostile situation.
“You run through a lot of practice scenarios and that gives you the confidence that you can appropriately diffuse a situation if it arises.”
Since obtaining the registration, Young and her colleagues have been spreading the word to other visitor information centres in the province, as well as other businesses and organizations in the Annapolis Valley.
“The incentive is to provide better service overall,” Young says. “Any time that you are increasing your cultural competency, and your competency around inclusion, that is going to raise your level of service.