DELHI: The global lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) travel market has continued to grow and is now worth over USD$211 billion in LGBT consumer spending per year as per a study released by Out Now consulting at WTM London 2016.
This data is part of the consulting firm’s LGBT2030 outlook that tracked consumer responses from over 130,000 participants. The data above reflects responses received in 2016 from respondents in each of the 18 listed countries (see table below) – considered the most viable and accessible LGBT markets for the global travel industry.
| COUNTRY | (USD $bn) 2016 | AV ANN. GROWTH RATE % | ||
| 1 | USA | 60.8 | 2.5 | |
| 2 | Brazil | 26.4 | 1.4 | |
| 3 | Japan | 20.4 | 1.1 | |
| 4 | Mexico | 10.7 | 2.3 | |
| 5 | Germany | 13.3 | 1.1 | |
| 6 | Turkey | 6.2 | 3.4 | |
| 7 | France | 11.2 | 0.6 | |
| 8 | UK | 11.3 | 2.5 | |
| 9 | Italy | 9.0 | -0.4 | |
| 10 | Spain | 6.8 | 0.6 | |
| 11 | Colombia | 4.9 | 4.7 | |
| 12 | Argentina | 4.2 | -0.2 | |
| 13 | Poland | 4.4 | 2.7 | |
| 14 | Canada | 6.9 | 2.2 | |
| 15 | Australia | 6.5 | 2.3 | |
| 16 | Netherlands | 2.9 | 0.4 | |
| 17 | Israel | 1.3 | 2.8 | |
| 18 | India (part) | 4.1 | 5.7 | |
| Total | 211.3 | 2.0 | ||
Ian Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Out Now, presented the findings and said, “The global LGBT market continues to be one of healthy growth and opportunities for a growing number of travel industry participants,”
He added, “However the LGBT consumer market continues to raise its expectations and there is much work to be done by the industry in the areas of communications improvements, strategy development, training and quality assurance for LGBT travellers. The new 2016 valuations of this market show that targeting LGBT customers is not only the right thing to do – it is also smart business.”
The latest data from Out Now’s LGBT2030 global research program shows an annual average growth rate for each of the past three years of 2.0% per year. Two markets – Italy and Argentina – experienced negative growth in LGBT travel consumer spend during this period.
Musafir Namah Bureau
