In this Holy Week in which the main beach tourist destinations in Mexico are getting ready to receive thousands of national and international tourists, a segment that is expected to impact the inflow of foreign currency is that of travelers from the LGQTB+ community, mainly those from of the United States.
According to a study by the Community Marketing & Insights (CMI) agency, 10% of North American LGBTQ+ tourists surveyed traveled to a destination in Mexico during the year before the pandemic; That is, approximately 1.3 million adults, so it is important for tour operators to serve this market and promote inclusion policies among their employees and facilities.
According to data from the same study, carried out before the pandemic, the characteristics shared by the 1.3 million LGBTQ+ tourists from the United States who choose Mexico for vacation are:
More than a third (37%) are luxury or moderate spending travelers.
They take three vacation trips a year on average.
They spend an average of 11 nights in paid accommodation per year.
About 70% book their trips directly on the hotel or service provider's website.
What they value when choosing a hotel or tourism provider is that they have a Customer Non-Discrimination Policy and that they have a staff trained in diversity issues.
7% of male tourists from the LGBTQ+ community preferred Puerto Vallarta to vacation in Mexico, while 5% of LGTBTQ+ women preferred Cancun.
Esmeralda Araiza, CEO of DT Latina, an association specialized in solutions to promote good inclusion and diversity practices in companies and the tourism sector, said that companies from various sectors have seen an increase in their sales of up to 7% when they carry out targeted campaigns. to this market, which is why it is important to carry out strategies aimed at this niche of travelers.
In this sense, he commented that in an unprecedented effort to promote Mexico as an inclusive tourist destination among the LGBTQ+ community in the United States, “ Queer Travel Fest ” was created, the First Digital LGBTQ+ Tourism Expo.
“As an organization that develops diversity and inclusion initiatives, it is a milestone for us to create this expo that will be held from July 13 to 20 as Mexico is one of the favorite countries of the LGBTQ+ community in Latin America and the United States. In fact, of the 10 favorite destinations in the region, Mexico occupies four spaces, which are: Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, Mexico City and Guadalajara,” Araiza explained.
By 2024, according to SECTUR expectations, the arrival of 42.4 million international tourists is expected and it is estimated that foreign exchange earnings from this area will amount to $31 billion dollars. Meanwhile, if Mexico's tourism companies unite in a strategy towards this market segment, such as Queer Travel Fest, in 2024 it could be reached again "the 1.5 million North American LGBTQ+ tourists that we received pre-pandemic and reach up to $2.5 billion dollars in economic benefits that could bring to the country, concluded the CEO of DT Latina.