Tour operators see spurt in ‘Pink’ tourism
Travel agents and tour operators are attempting to explore opportunities to provide custom-made holidays for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) segment.
MEGHA PAUL India
is slowly, but surely coming up on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) travel radar as a preferred destination due to its culture, spirituality, destinations and history. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that that travel agents and tour operators are now trying to explore more opportunities to provide custom- made holidays for the LGBT segment.
The UN-accredited body to look after the travel trade industry of this niche segment, IGLTA feels that with an improving environment in India regarding the gay issue,
Addressing the travel operators to cater to this niche segment, Tanzella urged, “LGBT travellers want to feel safe and welcome and sometimes that means an agent has
LGBT travellers want to feel safe and sometimes that means an agent has to go the extra mile
first gay tour operator, since the de-criminalistion of homosexuality in India, there has been an increase in ‘pink’ tourism in India. “However, India still has a conservative
India still has a conservative outlook towards LGBT community
of its message. “India cannot be covered in one trip and this beckons repeat visitors,” he added. The hospitality industry, according to Malhotra, has been very accepting to his LGBT travellers. The company has successfully conducted PINKPERFECT training programme in a lot of hotel chains on ‘How to Treat LGBT Travellers Right’. It
Talking about this lucrative and expanding market for the travel agents, Abhinav Goel, founder, Out Journeys, a gay and lesbian tour operator in India pointed out, “Now more private sector travel providers want to capture this market. It is not rocket science to be gayfriendly, but it is not that easy as well. Hence, the idea is to send out a message to the emerging travel segment. “Looking at the increasing demand, we have now unveiled outbound departures for the growing LGBT segment in India. This was launched around nine months ago. We are promoting South Africa, Australia and Thailand as of now,” he revealed. Regarding the challenge faced by tour operators to explore this segment, he confessed, “Tour operators face hurdles in terms of providing sensitivity training to their vendors, including drivers, tour guides and hotel staff. One of the biggest areas that need to be addressed is training the hotel and tour personnel to be more accepting and less discriminatory. For instance, the word ‘queer’ is acceptable in India, but shunned in many other countries. And you don’t call a same-sex couple ‘ friends’. You call them ‘partners’. Besides the general attitude needs to change over time.”
Bhuvan Mehta, Founder, Pink Escapes opined, “There are no substantial statistics to show the exact figures for the LGBT tourism in India. Still, one can affirm the fact that the business from this segment is shifting to ‘pink tour’ companies that have emerged in the last few years.” All tour companies are trying to attract pink business by offering great tour packages, but they fall short of realising the needs of LGBT travellers, which I feel a pink tour operator can understand better.