Mistakes agents make when selling LGBT+ holidays – and how to avoid them

LGBT travel

Maddie Barber

22 August 2025

The first of two TTG LGBT+ Travel Ambassadors workshops took place at Intrepid’s London headquarters on 13 August, with the content designed to teach five carefully selected travel agents how to sell to the LGBT+ community.

There’s no denying the global LGBT+ community is a growing one. According to market research firm Ipsos, 8.5% of the world’s population is part of the LGBT+ community, with marketing specialist Out Now reporting LGBT+ travellers spent $218 billion in 2019. By 2030, it’s expected this travel spending will have more than doubled to $568.5 billion.

“There’s huge potential here, so it’s definitely worth your focus”, said Jenny Southan, editor, founder and chief executive of trend forecasting agency Globetrender as she presented this research at the first of two TTG LGBT+ Travel Ambassador workshops.

The sessions are being run by TTG Media in partnership with Intrepid and Virgin Atlantic, for five travel agents who have been selected to take part in training, complete business-building tasks and attend an inclusive fam trip to India in order to become TTG LGBT+ Travel Ambassadors.

From left: Jenny Southan, Globetrender; Kris Roberts, Andrew Earles Holidays; Linda Reynolds, The Personal Travel Agents; David Knight, Swords Travel; Richard Lowrey-Heywood, Not Just Travel; Megan O'Leary, Travel Counsellors; Jon Hilton, Virgin Atlantic; Carrie Grant, Intrepid

Pictured from left: Jenny Southan, Globetrender; Kris Roberts, Andrew Earles Holidays; Linda Reynolds, The Personal Travel Agents; David Knight, Swords Travel; Richard Lowrey-Heywood, Not Just Travel; Megan O'Leary, Travel Counsellors; Jon Hilton, Virgin Atlantic; Carrie Grant, Intrepid

Booking LGBT+ travellers’ holidays is one time it is acceptable to treat the community differently to heterosexual and cisgender people. Ask more questions. Do extra research. Don’t risk getting it wrong.

Even if you don’t have any LGBT+ clients currently, it doesn’t mean their enquiry won’t drop into your inbox – and when it does, you’re going to want to be prepared. Here are seven mistakes you could potentially make when selling LGBT+ holidays, and how to avoid them.

1. Thinking LGBT+ travellers are only same-sex couples

Gay or lesbian couples might be the LGBT+ travellers you most frequently encounter, but you could also craft the perfect holiday for a transgender person, a throuple, or an LGBT+ family with children.

“By 2021, 24% of female same-sex couples had children – and that was an increase of 40% since 2015,” said Southan, explaining how LGBT+ family travel is booming as it becomes easier for gay and lesbian couples to adopt or utilise IVF.

2. Not asking clients for their preferred pronouns

Never make assumptions about a client’s gender and always make “what pronouns do you use?” the first thing you ask – to decipher whether you should refer to someone as “he/him”, “she/her” or “they/them”. Whether it’s by email, on the phone or adding a pronoun field to an enquiry form on your website, this is a small, simple step that will instantly make members of the LGBT+ community feel at ease – and it will help build trust.

3. Overlooking which destinations will (or will not) welcome LGBT+ travellers

A 2024 survey by Booking.com found 67% of LGBT+ travellers from the UK had suffered discrimination during trips in the past year, so make sure you’re clued up on the most (and least) LGBT+ friendly destinations so your clients don’t fall into this group. Transgender activist Jake Graf recently told TTG which destinations and resorts made him and his wife Hannah feel safe, while Carrie Grant, head of industry partnerships for the UK and Ireland at Intrepid, highlighted a Statista map during the workshop.

She explained: “There are roughly 40 countries in the world where same-sex marriage is legal, and I think this [can also be] a really useful barometer of where queer people will be more safe to go,” she said. Intrepid’s trending destinations for LGBT+ travel include Bangkok, Bogota, Sydney, San Jose, Taipei and Lisbon.

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4. Omitting international Pride celebrations from conversations

Not all LGBT+ travellers will be interested in building Pride celebrations into their itineraries, but some will, and it’s a suggestion you can make to ensure they feel their holiday is in good hands.

Intrepid offers a number of Pride-paired itineraries around the world to destinations such as Iceland, Japan and Spain. Every July a group departure from Paris to Berlin features the German city’s Pride march, while November sees the Best of Brazil itinerary encompass Rio de Janeiro’s Pride parties. In June, the operator’s Best of Western USA trip offers the opportunity to take part in San Francisco’s legendary Pride celebration.

Why is Intrepid an LGBT+ travel champion?

“Our customers are united,” said Carrie Grant, head of industry partnerships for the UK and Ireland. “They care about the places they visit and they care about understanding each other. That’s why [travelling with us is] a great opportunity for LGBT+ travellers; and they can travel to any of our [more than 100] destinations – we make it safe.” Here’s how:

Leader training: all local guides are required to take diversity, equity and inclusion training to ensure they’re considerate and kind to all types of traveller, and are able to effectively deal with discrimination.
Destination information: advice specifically relevant to LGBT+ travellers is available on Intrepid’s website, covering everything from public displays of affection to local laws and customs.
Supporting local LGBT+ communities: Intrepid invests in projects and social enterprises that support DE&I and gender equality in its destinations around the world.

5. Underestimating the power of a group tour

Travelling in a group of strangers with unpredictable opinions can arouse anxieties for LGBT+ travellers, but choose a tour operator with robust inclusivity policies and this travel style can open doors.

“There's power in a small group and the anonymity [it provides],” said Grant. “No one [in the destination] is looking at you as an [LGBT+] couple, they’re seeing a group and so this [group] is a safe space; we work with our local teams to make sure our trips are a safe space.”

She added: “Tourism can be really powerful – getting to know different people and having open conversations is really important.”

6. Not considering important family paperwork

If an LGBT+ couple or solo parent is travelling with their child, there may be additional paperwork required at airport checkpoints or international borders. Elle Pinkard, founder of travel agency Destination Rainbow, recommends carrying both paper and digital copies of any birth or adoption certificates, name-matching documents, court or parental orders, or letters from surrogates or other non-travelling parents.

“Consider travelling with certified translations for any documents you may need to travel with, too,” she added.

Why is Virgin Atlantic an LGBT+ travel champion?

“One of our missions is to empower everybody to take on the world, no matter who they are and no matter where they come from,” said Jon Hilton, Virgin Atlantic’s senior global account manager (corporate sales) and vice chair of the Pride@VirginAtlantic network. “If our people feel like they belong then our customers, our passengers, our guests will feel they belong as well.” Here’s how Virgin Atlantic is prioritising diversity, equity and inclusion:

Free To Be Me: This initiative encompasses a flexible uniform policy, pronoun badges for both staff and customers, a gender-neutral ticketing system and extensive inclusivity training for staff.
Belonging Collective: This is a group of employee networks launched 12 years ago that raise awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion to ensure people can connect, celebrate and support each other.
Destination guides: Four new destination guides address concerns about safety and highlight travel recommendations in Boston, Cape Town, Toronto and Washington, DC.
Hotel accreditation: Virgin Atlantic is developing an LGBT+ friendly hotel accreditation scheme

7. Ignoring LGBT+ travel trends

Staying on top of what’s hot and what’s not is essential for a travel agent, so make no exception for LGBT+ travel trends. Globetrender’s 2023 Future of Queer Travel Report is a great starting point thanks to its identification of eight key LGBT+ travel trends.

These include “limelight gaycations” (holidays inspired by TV shows and movies featuring LGBT+ characters), “rainbow rebellions” (where LGBT+ travellers are willing to modify their behaviour in public places to explore destinations not officially welcoming of LGBT+ people) and “polydays” (where ethically non-monogamous individuals travel as a throuple or larger group, and so require extra robes, slippers and pillows in hotel rooms).

Do you know about gender-neutral passports?

There are a number of countries around the world issuing gender-neutral passports, including Australia, Argentina, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Mexico and New Zealand. These documents allow non-binary individuals to use “X” instead of “F” or “M” to indicate their gender identity. They’re not currently available to UK citizens.

The second TTG LGBT+ Travel Ambassador workshop will take place in September, focusing on how to market and communicate LGBT+ holidays.