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The new specialist operator is building up its trade team and expanding its portfolio. Rob Gill finds out more about the plans
LGBT+ operator Chillimix is putting the L trade front and centre of its marketing plans as the specialist travel firm looks to grow its operations and product range in the next few months.
Agents are getting the chance to “Be the Star” of Chillimix’s forthcoming TV advertising campaign, which is due to start airing this summer on ITV and will feature a collage of images from LGBT+ travellers highlighting their diverse travel experiences.
David McDonald, founder and managing director of Chillimix, tells TTG that the operator has been busy in recent weeks agreeing commercial deals with the main agency consortia, as well as leading chains such as Hays Travel and Althams Travel.
Chillimix is also currently building up its trade team to introduce the brand to high street and homeworking agencies across the UK, as well as giving training and advice on how best to sell to the LGBT+ market.
“We’re in the process of launching to individual groups and training their agents,” explains McDonald. “The product is live and we’re rolling it out to agents.”
Chillimix primarily focuses on selling adults-only package holidays to LGBT+ groups of friends to welcoming and inclusive destinations.
“We’re the first major tour operator doing this,” says McDonald, who admits that sales continue to be a “mixed bag” as the market recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The operator features a range of LGBT-friendly destinations in Europe, such as Spain, Greece and Malta, as well as breaks to European and North American cities. It also offers a range of cruise holidays.
“We have a 50-50 split between short and long- haul,” adds McDonald. “Mainland Spain and Gran Canaria are our most popular short-haul destinations and for long-haul it’s mainly some of the cruises we sell.
“We only sell destinations where it’s legal to be LGBT, so that’s it’s safe to be yourself on holiday – this is one of our cornerstones.
“The product is all package holidays that are bookable online. Although there will also be some tailormade product available – we will do our best to help agents find what their clients want.”
LGBT-friendly cruises are another key product for Chillimix and it offers itineraries on mainstream lines such as Virgin Voyages, Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, alongside specialist gay cruise operator Atlantis, which charters ships for its itineraries.
“On Atlantis cruises you generally have around 99% male passengers onboard and they are designed for the LGBT market – that’s starting to do quite well,” says McDonald. “Celebrity has Celebrity Pride at Sea, which is amazing, and Virgin Voyages is so inclusive.
“I’ve sailed with Virgin and I’ve been really impressed – every ship has a resident drag queen onboard. I also like the way they have dealt with anti-LGBT abuse on social media by saying: ‘We don’t want people with those views onboard’. That’s a really strong message.”
Another key element of Chillimix’s portfolio is offering packages to many of the major Pride events held around the world every year.
“We already have some of the overseas Prides on sale and will be adding more,” says McDonald. “Selling Prides and connected events is our USP. Berlin Pride is one of the most popular events and we have exclusive tours over there. Gran Canaria Pride is our most popular Pride event.
“We will also start selling EuroPride 2023 in Malta, where they are expecting 60,000 people. This is going to be really big for Malta next year – Malta is number one on the Rainbow Index of destinations in Europe.
“A lot of the Prides are not freely available as package holidays, so we can offer added value with ground arrangements, including exclusive access to certain venues and shows. It’s all about adding value and ensuring safety for the customer.”
One area that Chillimix plans to introduce in the coming months is touring, with some trips set to be created especially for the lesbian market.
“We’re just embarking on offering touring product and we will be looking to work with exclusive partners to offer LGBT+ tours – walking tours and some self-guided products,” explains McDonald.
“We are looking at the lesbian market, which we think is very underserved in the sector. There’s a lot of product for the male segment but we need more group holidays for women.
“That’s on our radar but it’s probably six months away for travel in summer 2023 and 2024. We have to be very thorough and especially consider the safety elements to make sure the customer is protected.”
McDonald says the touring programme is likely to include long-haul trips to the Americas, as well as European itineraries to destinations such as Malta and Gozo, which have so far been a “bit undersold” to the LGBT+ market.
One of Chillimix’s missions is to help agents to sell successfully to the LGBT+ market, which includes finding the most appropriate way to identify this type of client at the outset of the booking process without causing any offence.
“Agents often don’t want to just ask their client if they are gay,” explains McDonald, “We will be giving advice on what words to use.
“One of the simplest things is to ask: ‘Would you like a double or a twin room?’. By doing that, you’ve given them the option and broken that barrier. It’s allowed the conversation to start.
“We’re not asking agents to reinvent the wheel, so it’s good to use something simple. I would say to agents: don’t be scared about the fear of offending people by dancing around the subject.”
McDonald adds that one of the main tasks for agents is to “understand the risks” for their clients by not selling destinations that have anti-LGBT+ laws and attitudes.
He says there are several good information sources about destinations’ friendliness to LGBT+ travellers that agents can utilise, including the Foreign Office’s extensive travel advice section, as well as the Rainbow Index from ILGA, and Equaldex, which monitors LGBT+ rights across the world.
“We’re at the end of the phone if agents need advice on a booking or if their clients have got a question,” stresses McDonald.
The Chillimix team will also be tailoring its trade training for different types of agents such as high street shops and homeworkers.
“There are a lot of LGBT+ homeworkers who work with closed user groups – people who go to certain bars, for example – who may have more detailed specialist interests such as fetish weeks,” explains McDonald. “We will train homeworkers on how to engage to reach out to those markets.”
