ITB Berlin presents Gay & Lesbian Travel events

Gay & Lesbian Travel Pavilion with first-time exhibitors from Mexico, ITB's partner country, Slovenia, Majorca, Madrid and China – show debut for media networking event – ITB Berlin Convention programme features discussion round – popular ITB TomOnTour Party on 5 March

Berlin, 24 February 2014 – This year ITB Berlin will again be hosting a wide-ranging programme featuring numerous events on the topic of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travel (LGBT). For many years the world's leading travel trade show has been helping to develop this booming market segment. With its Networking Brunch for journalists, a seminar on 'Gay Pride Events', numerous receptions, the popular TomOnTour Party, as well as a number of first-time exhibitors, ITB Berlin will have a wide-ranging programme of events waiting for visitors interested in LGBT.

In 2014 the main attraction will once again be the Gay & Lesbian Travel Pavilion. This year it will be amongst the Caribbean displays in Hall 3.1 and will be featuring a number of first-time exhibitors. Celebrating their debut will be companies from Mexico, ITB Berlin's partner country, Majorca, Madrid, as well as Pinkweek.eu from Slovenia. Brazil will also be taking part again. Other exhibitors will include Wien Tourismus, Argentina, Prague Pride, Gran Canaria, TomonTour.com, Spartacus as well as Morantis, with offers of tourism in Cyprus and Greece. In 2014 the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) will again be hosting the largest display. Co-exhibitors will include Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Key West, World Rainbow Hotels (UK), organisers from Tel Aviv, India, as well as Toronto World Pride and China, a newcomer to the event. Once again, Wien Tourismus will be offering refreshments at the established Vienna Gay Café, where every visitor can enjoy Viennese coffee specialities free of charge. On 5 March from 4 to 6 p.m., along with the IGLTA, Lufthansa and Berliner Aids-Hilfe e.V., the Spartacus International Gay Guide will be hosting an LGBT reception for visitors on its stand. On Saturday, the Queer Tango Show, organised by Argentina, will round off the programme of events at the Gay & Lesbian Travel Pavilion.

On Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., taking place in the ICC Salon 13/14, members of the media can find out all the latest news and developments concerning LGBT inbound tourism at the 1^st Gay & Lesbian Media Networking Brunch. Welcoming them, among others, will be Rezidor Hotels Deutschland, visitBerlin, Frankfurt Congress + Tourismus, Wien Tourismus and Ontario Tourism. The organiser is ITB Berlin and the media partners are Spartacus Traveler and TomOnTour. The event targets representatives from all parts of the media.

Trade visitors can also look forward to interesting programme items at the ITB Berlin Convention. On Friday, at the ITB Destination Days, a discussion round will be discussing the growing importance of Gay Pride organisations for urban tourism. The event will take place on Friday at 4 p.m. in Hall 7.1a, in the Auditorium New York 1. Rika Jean François of the Gay & Lesbian Travel Segment, ITB Berlin and member of the board of IGLTA, will give an introductory presentation. Afterwards, Tom Roth, president of Community Marketing Inc., the science partner of ITB Berlin, David Whitaker, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto, Saro Arenciba of the Gran Canaria Tourist Board, Willem van der Bas of Prague Pride, as well as Masaki Higashida, managing director of Qocci Tokyo will be talking about international best practices and the impact of Gay Pride on tourism.

Taking place on the first evening of ITB Berlin 2014, the popular Gay ITB Party organised by TomOnTour is once again a must. On Wednesday, 5 March at 7.30 p.m., a private function for travel professionals and the media will be taking place in the Golden Tulip Hotel on Landgrafenstrasse. The evening's topic will be 'Night flights over Berlin.' VisitFlorida is the main sponsor of the event. Journalists wishing to take part can register at [email protected]. Thursday evening will also be "after ITB party time." Spartacus, Lufthansa and Schauinsland Reisen will be extending an invitation to attend the mate.Travel Award 2014 at Tube Station Berlin on Friedrichstrasse (registration is mandatory at: [email protected]). Morning hours at the show will also offer opportunities for networking. On the Saturday of ITB at 9.30 a.m., visitBerlin will be inviting guests to attend the popular visitBerlin Gay Breakfast in the ABBA Berlin Hotel on Lietzenburger Strasse.

ITB Berlin supports the LGBT segment 365 days a year and hosts ITB Academy events at various destinations which provide information on global developments. Messe Berlin has also signed up to strategic partnerships with Wien Tourismus and visitBerlin and plans exist for further destinations to follow. In the context of its social responsibilities ITB Berlin also sees itself in a pioneering role, and promotes greater tolerance and the implementation of human rights. Furthermore, together with Messe Berlin ITB is planning to fly its colours at this year's Christopher Street Day (CSD) on 21 June in Berlin, where it will be taking part with its own float.