Tourism
We’re here to help you get market-ready for 2SLGBTQI+ travellers
2SLGBTQI+ travellers represent a major opportunity for recovery for our Canadian tourism industry.
They outspend their mainstream counterparts at 7x the average trip expense. They rebound faster after industry shocks, being among the first segment to recover post-9/11 and SARS. And right now, 90% of them are seeking travel opportunities within Canada.
They are after many of the travel experiences you likely already have to offer, but they value one thing significantly higher than their mainstream counterparts: their safety.
In order to welcome the lucrative 2SLGBTQI+ Canadian travel market, valued at over $12 billion annually, there is work to do to ensure these travellers’ comfort and wellbeing.
So, what’s the first step?
Before engaging these communities, you need to prepare to welcome them into a safe space. This means ensuring your destination recognizes gender and sexual diversity and has meaningful practices in place to ensure 2SLGBTQI+ travellers have an inclusive and positive experience with you.
Luckily, CGLCC, in partnership with Tourism HR Canada, has designed a number of training and educational tools to get you started on the right track – and ready to boost your business.
Rainbow Registered 2SLGBTQI+ Friendly Accreditation Program
If you want to enthusiastically showcase your business as a safe space that is 2SLGBTQI+ inclusive, you’ve come to the right place. But there are a number of criteria you need to meet before earning the prestigious Rainbow Registered mark, and the benefits that go along with it. To be associated with the Rainbow Registered Program, no matter the size of your business, you must meet rigorous standards that ensure 2SLGBTQI+ customers consistently feel safe and included at your establishment(s), and that work starts from within.
Navigating 2SLGBTQI+ Diversity and Inclusion in the Tourism Industry Workshops
You’ve heard it before: change comes from within. Before you invite 2SLGBTQI+ travellers to your destination in droves, make sure your workplace is an inclusive environment for 2SLGBTQI+ employees and customers. Join a Navigating 2SLGBTQI+ Diversity and Inclusion in the Tourism Industry workshop in your region to learn the basics of an 2SLGBTQI+-inclusive vocabulary, space, and workplace.
Travel Market-Ready Seminars
Once you’ve gotten acquainted with the various 2SLGBTQI+ communities and how best to serve them in your workplace, you may be ready to make a concerted effort to welcome the 2SLGBTQI+ travel market. This two-hour seminar will share exclusive 2SLGBTQI+ travel market research and case study best practices from around the world, as well as exposing you to a number of custom 2SLGBTQI+ products to help inspire your own successful 2SLGBTQI+ tourism-welcoming strategy.
Destination Audits
The Destination Audit is designed to assess your strengths and areas for improvement in your 2SLGBTQI+ travel market-readiness or tourism strategies. The Destination Audit program is best-suited to destinations that have already completed diversity and inclusion training and made some efforts to welcome the 2SLGBTQI+ travel market (or completed the Travel Market-Ready seminar). The final recommendation report from the Audit may serve as a benchmarking tool to continue to assess and elevate your 2SLGBTQI+ travel market strategy each year.
Tourism Toolkit
The Toolkit is comprised of a series of resources aimed at creating an 2SLGBTQI+ inclusive organization:
- 2SLGBTQI+ Products and Tours
- Inclusive Procurement Guide
- Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion Resource Guide
- 2SLGBTQI+ Travel Market Guide & Tourism Development Toolkit
- Glossary of Terminology
- Hosting 2SLGBTQI+ Inclusive Events
- 2SLGBTQI+ Inclusion Guide
- 2SLGBTQI+ Business Case for Inclusion
- Community Engagement Guide
- Marketing to the 2SLGBTQI+ Community
- Starting an Employee Resource Group
- Allyship Resource Guide
- 2SLGBTQI+ Inclusive Policies and Practices
The Toolkit is accessible to all CGLCC members and Rainbow Registered accredited businesses through the member portal.
