IGLTA invites you to participate in a research project about the economic impact of our member LGBT buyers (travel agents/outbound tour operators). Your engagement is extremely valuable to the association and the IGLTA Foundation. Answers are strictly confidential and cannot be linked to you personally. The survey takes approximately 12-15 minutes. Upon completion of the entire survey, you may enter a separate drawing to win a roundtrip airline ticket from any Delta Air Lines-served city to Tampa International Airport (near St. Petersburg, Florida) to attend the IGLTA Annual Global Convention 3-6 May 2017 and a complimentary web banner on iglta.org for one month. Your survey answers are not identifiable by entering the drawing. Please email Keith.Hickman@iglta.org for the survey link. Surveys must be completed by 31 October.
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Promoted by the Brazilian Travel Agencies Association, the ABAV International Tourism Fair is one of the country's most comprehensive trade events. The 44th annual fair will be held 28-30 September at the Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo. IGLTA and our Brazilian media partner ViaG will host an LGBT networking event for our members and allies at 20:30h, 30 September at popular gay bar Tirrenos Grill, R. Frei Caneca 649, in the Caneca gay neighborhood. Please RSVP to our Membership Coordinator-Brazil: clovis.casemiro@iglta.org.
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Community Marketing & Insights will hold its 17th Conference on LGBT Tourism & Hospitality at Vdara Hotel & Spa at ARIA Las Vegas, 11-13 December. IGLTA members receive a discounted rate of $445 ($100 off) through 31 October, plus with every member registration, CMI will donate $50 to the IGLTA Foundation. Click here
for more conference information and to register. Use promotional code IGLTA-100-50-2016.
If you have any questions, please contact Dave Paisley: david@CommunityMarketingInc.com.
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Please join us in supporting the small business members of IGLTA, such as Whistler's Inn, nestled in downtown Jasper, Canada, which offers LGBT programming and a welcoming atmosphere that's perfect for a romantic getaway or a mountain escape any time of year; and Easy Tours, a U.S.-based upscale tour operator with offices in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia and Laos that coordinates private journeys throughout Asia.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
The organizers of Palm Springs Pride have announced plans to honor the victims of the Orlando, Florida, tragedy in the best way.
The 49 individuals killed during the attack are to be "National Grand Marshals" of this year's LGBTI festival.
The atrocity took place in the Florida city on 12 June when Omar Mateen fatally shot 49 people at gay club Pulse, injuring 53.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
"What's like growing up in China being gay?"
This is often the first serious question I get when someone I've just met discovers I'm gay and grew up in mainland China. I understand their curiosity — the concept can seem almost oxymoronic. In totalitarian China, where everything is reined under the tight leash of the Communist Party, being part of the LGBTQ community shouldn't be easy. After all, China's ideological kin, Russia, has become emblematic of oppression towards the LGBTQ community. China, in theory, is not that different.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Back in March, North Carolina passed HB2, a controversial law that bans transgender people from using the public bathroom of their choosing; instead they must use the bathroom of the gender on their birth certificate. The backlash was swift and loud, with progressives calling the s0-called "bathroom bill" discriminatory at best, potentially life-threatening at worst.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Two men who are openly gay are standing in the Russian elections in a challenge to Vladimir Putin and the ruling party, United Russia.
Aleksei Korolyov, 29, and 33-year-old Bulat Barantayev are thought to be the first LGBT people ever to stand in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Both outspoken gay rights activists, the men strongly object to the gay "propaganda" law.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Gay couples in Mexico already get married when they wish, thanks to the blessing of the highest court in the land. But big demonstrations across the country in recent days show that, politically at least, the issue of same-sex marriage is far from settled.
Thousands of people marched throughout the country this past Saturday to protest President Enrique Pena Nieto's initiative to legalize gay marriage. Counter-protesters came out in force, too.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Malcom Turnbull, the Australian prime minister, introduced legislation to enable a public plebiscite on same-sex marriage in February. But without the support of the opposition, center-left Labour Party, it remains unclear if such a vote will take place.
"Our opponents argue that the Australian people are too immature and to reckless to be trusted with this debate," Turnbull said of the plebiscite in a statement recently.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
They met in Central Park, fell in love, and now are happily married. But there's a catch. The same-sex marriage of Adrian Coman and Claibourn Robert Hamilton is not recognized in Coman's native Romania.
They have petitioned Romania's Constitutional Court to recognize them as married, which would be a landmark — and surprising — ruling. Commentators predict the court will reject their case recently.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Indonesia is planning to ban gay-networking apps, in the latest demonstration of the country's growing intolerance toward the LGBT community.
A government official confirmed that authorities are already moving to block at least three apps — Grindr, Blued and BoyAhoy — after a request from police, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Assembly Bill 2349 by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) Friday was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. This measure would protect parents of children conceived through surrogacy in California — including many same-sex couples who rely on reproductive assistance to form their families — from having their rights violated outside the state.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
Around 1,000 people took part in a parade here to show their support to the rights of the LGBT group in Serbia.
The event on 18 September marks the fourth parade of its kind in Serbia and the third year in a row for organizers to host such an event since 2014.
Under tight security measures, supporters and activists of LGBT(lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights marched around one kilometer from Slavija Square in Belgrade to the main Republic Square, waving rainbow flags, dancing and singing.
21 Sep 2016 10:46:47 CDT
One of Russia's most popular LGBT news sites has been blocked without warning, its administrators have announced.
A court in the remote Siberian town of Parabel ruled to block BlueSystem.ru, banning the site throughout Russia.
The reason for the ban has not been published on the court's website, and site administrators say that they have not received any explanation for the decision.
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