Creating a tourist offer focused on the gay tourism in Argentina is becoming increasingly attractive for companies and businesses in the industry, as this market registers higher expenditure and longer stays in comparison to other niches.
More than 490,000 tourists from the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) segment visited Argentina during 2018, which accounted for an 11% year-on-year growth.
“In 2018, Argentina closed the year with over 7 million visitors, and an approximate of more than 490,000 LGBT tourists,” Pablo De Luca, president of the Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Tourism of Argentina (CCGLAR, in Spanish) announced.
For the next two years, the head of the organization said that the competitiveness granted by the devaluation “will maintain that growth rate of around 11%”.
In this regard, he estimated that this year about 550,000 tourists will arrive in the country, while probably by 2020, if everything continues as estimated 600,000 visitors will be reached.
As for the destinations chosen by this segment, De Luca ranked Buenos Aires first, followed by the cities of Puerto Iguazú, Ushuaia, Mendoza, Córdoba, and Rosario.
The constant mentions of the country by surveys, consulting agencies and search engines as one of the top ten “gay-friendly” destinations, and often as the only one in Latin America, as called by the LGBT British Awards, are of the reasons for the sector growth.
Regarding the regional outlook, countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay and Brazil are also positioning themselves in the segment.
Currently, the impact of the anti-gay policies in Brazil is unknown, however if these policies are upheld, perhaps it can be a reason for more LGBT tourists to spend holidays in destinations where those rights are respected.