Two-thirds of European travel managers currently have no special consideration for LGBTQ+ travellers within their programmes, according to a survey by Business Travel Show Europe.
BTS Europe, which will be held in London on 29-30 June, polled 229 travel managers and found that only 26 per cent included provisions for LGBTQ+ employees in their programmes. Another eight per cent plan to introduce specific consideration for this group of travellers by the end of this year.
The survey revealed how LGBTQ+ travellers are the least well provided for in travel policies and programmes, compared with other groups, such as solo female travellers, people with accessibility requirements and those from “marginalised” communities, who are more likely to have special provisions within programmes.
Louis Magliaro, executive vice president at BTN Group, which organises Business Travel Show Europe, said: “According to the ONS, an estimated 2.7 per cent of British people over 16 identified as LGB in 2019. It’s estimated a further 200,000-500,000 people in the UK are trans. Yet, these communities are subject to a disproportionate amount of abuse and hate crime.
“Last month, Asher & Lyric Fergusson conducted 350 hours of research to create the LGBTQ+ Travel Safety Index, which rates the best and worst 203 countries for LGBTQ+ travel in 2022. Many African, Middle Eastern and Caribbean countries feature among the worst, but you may be shocked to see the United States rates just 24th.
“This is why it’s so important that any company with travellers among the LGBTQ+ community is proactively protecting them and ensuring their duty of care for every second they are travelling under their watch.”
Business Travel Show Europe is hosting a masterclass on this subject, which is open to all show visitors, called “Making diversity, equity and inclusion a reality in business travel” on Thursday 30 June at 11:30am.
“DE&I (diversity, equity and inclusion) is finally getting the attention it needs in corporate travel and now there are some fantastic examples of buyers and suppliers working together to achieve real change,” added Magliaro.
“In this highly interactive session, let’s share what we can all do to make travel management professionals more diverse, plug talent gaps in the supply chain, and do right by our travellers from diverse backgrounds.”
For more information about this subject, read about the results from BTN Group’s recent DE&I survey.
Business Travel Show Europe takes place on 29-30 June 2022 at ExCeL London. Online visitor registration is now open.