To help IGLTA members promote their businesses following the coronavirus pandemic, IGLTA is offering a selection of its most popular marketing packages at a discount. Connect with LGBTQ+ tourism businesses, members and travelers around the world through our B2B and B2C networks.
IGLTA reaches more than 4MM unique LGBTQ+ travelers across the globe through our consumer campaigns, on our website, through social media, via email as well as through partner outreach and amplification. IGLTA also has a strong B2B network with the ability to target tourism professionals, including travel advisors, hoteliers, tourism offices and much more. As an IGLTA member, you have the opportunity to tap into these networks to help promote your business in the post-COVID world. 2020 and 2021 have been challenging years for the tourism industry, but all signs point to a recovery and demand to travel from the LGBTQ+ community is extremely high. In fact, 73% of those surveyed in our post-COVID travel survey indicated that they wanted to travel before the end of 2021.
General Tips and Recommendations
Below are some general tips to get started when using IGLTA marketing channels.
- Determine your target audience – Do you want to reach travelers (B2C) or perhaps tourism industry professionals (B2B)? This is a key first step when putting together a marketing campaign. Do you have a specific location or demographic for which you’d like to promote your products or services? IGLTA’s marketing packages are designed to target either a B2C or B2B audience, or both if you think there’s value in reaching out to both segments. Read more below about audience targeting.
- Determine your budget – Any business would love to reach millions of people with advertising, but you’ll also need to be realistic. IGLTA’s packages are priced to be accessible to even small businesses. Determine how much you can afford to spend and choose the right package that fits your requirements. You can also start small and expand later if you find success with the results.
- Create your content – IGLTA’s marketing packages are designed to promote your product or service, but you’ll need to create the content yourself. IGLTA is a small team and unfortunately, we don’t offer design services or content creation. So, depending on which packages you pick, you may need to design banner ads, write blog posts, create social media copy, write email blast text and/or provide photos. However, we will happily give you feedback or help you make edits to improve your offering.
Audience Targeting
How to Reach Consumers
IGLTA was founded in 1983 and is the world's leading network of LGBTQ+ welcoming tourism businesses. We provide free travel resources and information to consumers while continuously working to promote equality and safety within LGBTQ+ tourism worldwide. IGLTA also publishes a set of LGBTQ+ travel guides to more than 30+ countries around the world where our members operate. Through our online networks, you can reach over 120,000 LGBTQ+ travelers across our website, social media and email database. Depending on your needs and goals, IGLTA’s marketing packages can be specifically designed to reach travelers looking for LGBTQ+ welcoming businesses.
How to Reach Tourism Industry Professionals
IGLTA has a vast network of tourism industry professionals in our database, including LGBTQ+ welcoming accommodations, transportation companies, destinations, service providers, travel advisors, tour operators, event organizers, travel media and more, all located in approximately 80 countries. Through our website, social media and email database, we can reach well over 7,000 individuals working in the travel industry. IGLTA’s marketing packages can be specifically targeted to reach a B2B audience so you can introduce your product, service or event to industry decision makers around the world.
How to Reach Travel Advisors (Buyers)
Travel advisors/agents are a highly desired segment to reach for many within the tourism industry. Most travel advisors and agents already have a well-established client network who use them to plan their trips based on years of relationship building and trust with their clients. Having the ability to put your services in front of a travel advisor is a good way to have others sell your product for you. IGLTA has hundreds of members and contacts in the travel advisor community in many countries around the world. We can help put together a marketing campaign for suppliers (hotels, CVBs/DMOs, travel services, etc.) to specifically reach this lucrative segment of tourism professionals.
How to Generate Leads
You may decide that now is not the best time to promote and sell your products and services, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue your marketing activities. Keeping your brand or destination at top of mind among travelers should still be a priority, even in challenging times when travel restrictions are in place. So rather than trying to convince travelers to visit your destination or purchase your travel product or service, why not create a campaign to develop leads now, which you can then use later for advertising when the time is more appropriate? You can use IGLTA’s marketing packages to help promote a giveaway to generate email leads or another online campaign to help grow your social media followers. These are just a couple of examples as to how you can use a marketing package to generate interest now, which will help increase your own followers and subscribers. Generating leads can be used in both B2B and B2C targeting.
Special Tips Based on Business Type
CVBs/DMOs
Tourism bureaus and destination marketing organizations are particularly well suited to take advantage of IGLTA’s marketing packages. Our prices are much lower than you’d pay to an ad agency and our packages are designed to help amplify the campaigns you’ve already created. There’s no need to start from scratch.
Most DMOs have consumer campaigns already developed which they promote through their own channels as well as with paid marketing efforts. You can work with IGLTA to complement what you’re already doing to help reach more travelers, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community. Simply determine your budget and provide the assets and content to the marketing team at IGLTA. We can amplify your existing webpage, microsite, banner ads, blog posts or social media campaigns via our channels and help you target the highly lucrative LGBTQ+ market.
Are you approaching the end of your budget cycle and still have marketing funds you haven’t spent? Connect with IGLTA’s marketing team and we can amplify your existing campaigns with very little extra work on your part. Simply pick the package that fits your budget, provide your audience target and assets and we’ll do the rest. Extra ROI to maximize your year-end activities!
Small Businesses
We understand that 2020 and 2021 were probably the most challenging time you’ve faced as a tourism business. From staff cuts and refunds to massively reduced revenues and difficult business decisions, small businesses face more pressure because you have to do it all yourself. IGLTA is here to help and we offer packages as low as 650USD (and even less for Latin America, Africa and Asia) to help get your business back off the ground.
Can’t afford to invest in a marketing package now? It’s also important to remember that all IGLTA members have many marketing benefits included in the annual membership fee. Be sure that you are taking advantage of these benefits, which you’re already paying for. Click here to learn more about how you can maximize your membership.
Customize Your Package
Don’t see exactly what you want in our marketing packages? Or maybe you’d like to combine your promotions with one of our popular IGLTA Member Connect webinars? We’re happy to build a package that fits your needs via the channels of your choice.
Don’t hesitate to reach out and ask how we can help. Please send all requests to: marketing@iglta.org.
Featured image credit: @agonzaloflores