Managing director Melissa Tilling revealed the operator would, in the lead-up to June’s IPW trade show, be asking for written responses from tourist boards and suppliers in the US, Mexico and the Caribbean “around the way they embrace the LGBT community and diversity”.

Speaking at the TTG LGBT Breakfast debate in London last week, Tilling stressed the move was “not a crusade” but built on a desire to better support Funway’s guests.

“When you look at parts of the world that are less accommodating of the LGBT community, it is up to us – in a non-evangelical way – to ask sensible questions about our destinations’ and commercial partners’ approach to that community,” she told delegates.

“We know LGBT customers are a very important part of our customer base, so this approach allows us 
to get clarity about what our UK customers will get in-destination.

“I imagine there may be parts of the US and the Caribbean that will find that question quite challenging, but it is up to us to ask it.”

Asked what would happen if Funway did not receive a response, Tilling said the operator would “ask again and again and again”.

Tilling also explained how Funway was looking at its own brochure and website imagery to “address a bit of an imbalance” around diversity.

“When you consider our principal destinations of the US, Mexico
 and the Caribbean, we are probably not working with an area of the world that embraces diversity as much as it should. This creates almost a self-fulfilling prophecy for our marketing – we get what the hotels send us.

“It’s up to us to start to ramp up the pressure on our destination partners and our suppliers to give us that [more diverse] imagery and messaging.”