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Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort
December 9-11, 2015

Community Marketing & Insights’ Conference on LGBT Tourism and Hospitality will be held once again in South Florida at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort & Spa (321 N. Fort LGBTTourism_FILauderdale Beach Blvd.). This year’s conference, the sixteenth, begins on Wednesday, December 9 and runs until Friday, December 11.

The Conference hopes to help marketing, sales and public relations people in the tourism industry reach the ever-growing LGBT market. There will be many workshops and seminars hosted by groups who have done just that and want to share their success stories with organizations in other cities and countries. Other topics covered will include utilizing social media to your advantage to reach LGBT consumers, how to attract LGBT meetings and groups and what will (and won’t) work in your marketing pitch, and how to increase sales for hotels and resorts.

The first day of events begins with registration in the Atlantic Ballroom foyer at noon, and it will be open until 4:30 p.m. At 2 p.m., there will be an orientation to LGBT travel sales and marketing, hosted by Tom Roth and David Paisley, president and senior research director at Community Marketing & Insights. This refresher goes over marketing techniques and what is proven to work in reaching the LGBT traveler. For people who attended the conference last year, the orientation will also go over the strides made nationally in the past year to reach the LGBTTourism_RichardGrayLGBT market. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a welcome reception aboard the Windridge Charter Yacht, sponsored by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. Shuttle times will be available when you register.

The second day of events begins with a breakfast at 8 a.m. in the Atlantic Ballroom, sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Tom Roth will welcome all attendees at 9 a.m., after which the results of the 20th annual LGBT Tourism Survey will be announced. There will be a number of seminars going on throughout the day hosted by tourism bureaus and resorts, such as Richmond Region Tourism, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, and China Luxury LGBTTourism_MarkElderkinAdvisors. Many media companies will also be participating in seminars and workshops, such as ManAbout World Magazine, Q.Digital, Gaycation Magazine, Towleroad, and EDGE Media Network. There will be a networking reception at 6 p.m. on the Westin’s Sky Terrace, sponsored by the IGLTA and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

On the final day of the conference, breakfast begins at 8 a.m., sponsored by Rivendell Media. Seminars hosted today include “Louisville: Where the Bourbon is Straight But the Weddings Don’t Have to Be” (9:20 a.m.); “Outreaching to the LGBT Family Market,” presented by Richard Gray from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau (9:40 a.m.); “LGBT Travelers and Florida,” presented by Vicki Allen at VISIT FLORIDA (10 a.m.); and “Reaching the LGBT Latin American Traveler” (11:45 a.m.). Closing remarks will be made at 12:30 p.m., LGBTTourism_ReneeandVickifollowed by a farewell lunch, brought to you by the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation.

In addition to the aforementioned speakers, other keynote speakers who will be hosting panel discussions, seminars and workshops include, but are not limited to, Renee Eichelberger, Director of Leisure Travel Sales at the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Bureau; Mark Elderkin, CEO and Founder of Gay Ad Network; Todd Evans, President and CEO of Rivendell Media; David Foucher, Publisher and CEO of Edge Publications and Pride Labs; Loann Halden, Communications Director of the IGLTA; Pablo De Luca, President of the Argentina Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; and Matt Skallerud, President of Pink Banana Media.

Pay for your registration online by going to lgbttourismconference.com/registration. The cost is $545 for an individual registration, $995 for two registrations from the same company, and $850 for admission to the conference plus two nights at the Westin (Dec. 9 and 10).

For more information on the Community Marketing & Insights Conference on LGBT Tourism and Hospitality, visit lgbttourismconference.com. “Like” Community Marketing & Insights on Facebook by going to facebook.com/communitymarketinginc.