A Rainbow Connection

Estimated to be worth over a trillion dollars globally, the strengthening pink dollar has become a point of interest for the hospitality industry that is finding new ways to pursue this particular group of customers.

- Gregory Woo

Known by other names like the “Pink Pound” or “Dorothy Dollar” the LGBT+ spend is an important part of any country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Because it is still stigmatised in many countries and cultures around the world, the LGBT+ community is an underserved one. But there's hope that that's changing. As the world becomes increasingly accepting of differences, so is the travel industry. In the past, LGBT+ travel meant a very specific kind of experience. San Francisco, Rio De Janeiro and closer to home, Taipei, were the destinations of choice because they were the rare few destinations that people who defy sexual and gender norms felt like they were welcome. Sure, to define a traveller by the way their sexual orientation or gender identity feels like a microscopic perspective of what an individual’s likes or dislikes are based upon, but for an industry as vast as tourism, it’s a way to narrow the scope down, to hone in and attract a niche customer — and it just makes good business sense.