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LGBT and the UNWTO Secretary General Election IGLTA Ceo John Tanzella Issues a Statement

World Tourism Wire has reported on John Tanzella’s statement on IGLTA and the coming UNWTO elections. They say:- High spending LGBT travelers contribute a substantial amount of business to the global travel and tourism industry. John Tanzella, president, and CEO of IGLTA knows this very well. He knows the UNWTO is about to elect a new Secretary General. The new Secretary General will lead this global industry into a new phase. There are seven candidates competing for the highest post.

The only candidate openly supportive to the LGBT community is Alain St. Ange from the Seychelles. During ITB he attended an event with IGLTA and ETOA at the Belgium Embassy in Brussels. The other six candidates did not yet address the issue of gay, lesbian, and transgender travel but discussed in details equality for women and accessible tourism for all. The human right to travel always pops up at UNWTO conferences.

Gay and lesbian acts remain illegal in the world, including in a large number of UNWTO member countries. Therefore UNWTO struggles with an official policy on this issue. Last year at World Tourism Day in Bangkok, Mr. Xu Jing, UNWTO’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific (China), openly voiced UNWTO’s support for the LGBT traveler after David Scowsill, President and CEO of WTTC took a lead in including everyone in the tourism for all theme. This happened after eTN publisher Juergen Steinmetz asked the question at a press conference.

It remains to be seen who will respond to the statement just released by the IGLTA leader. IGLTA stands for International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association. IGLTA is an international organization. IGLTA is a leading global travel network dedicated to connecting and educating LGBT travelers and the businesses that welcome and support. The organization is based in Florida, USA with members around the world.

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