LGBTQ+ tourism experts and interested parties will be gathering for presentations, lectures, interviews with experts and panel discussions, insider meetings, events and press events, while ITB’s own LGBTQ+ Tourism Pavilion Stage and the ITB Berlin Convention will feature keynote speeches, interviews with experts and panel discussions. The TOMONTOUR Podcast Lounge is debuting in Hall 4.1, where during the show podcast recordings will take place with tourism experts and hotel managers featuring anecdotes from the day-to-day world of tourism. Afterwards, these will be available on all the usual streaming portals.
Big-name companies such as München Tourismus, IGLTA (International LGBTQ+ Travel Association), GNetwork Buenos Aires and TOMONTOUR are presenting a wide range of LGBTQ+ tourism products. This is the first time Choose Chicago and the LGBTQ+ Wedding Conference are taking part. This year’s official partners of the segment are Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, with Benidorm and Valencia – the latter is organizing the Gay Games 2026 – along with Vacaya, a US operator of cruises and LGBTQ+ resorts. Networking events and forward-looking lectures on the ITB segment’s own stage and at the ITB Berlin Convention round off events.
DAY ONE
March 5, day one, the LGBTQ+ Media Brunch will be held from 10 to 11.30 a.m. with media representatives and bloggers to network with exhibitors including Choose Chicago and GnetWork Buenos Aires.
This will be followed at 11.30 a.m. by the official opening of the LGBTQ+ Tourism Pavilion, in the presence of Minister of Tourism of Comunitat Valenciana Nuria Montes de Diego, other representatives of Valencia, and Randle Roper, CEO of the US cruise operator Vacaya.
At 1.30 p.m., A3M Global Monitoring will present its “Travel Risk Map 2024,” a map of the world classifying travel risks for the LGBTQ+ community.
At 2 p.m. a panel discussion will take place entitled “Understanding Gen Z travelers and their preferences in LGBTQ+ Tourism.” Among those taking part are Björn Bender, CEO and executive chairman, Rail Europe.
At 3 p.m., trade visitors can look forward to an interview session entitled “Challenges for Trans Individuals While Traveling Abroad” with Magda Stega (TED Talk speaker, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant, mstega.com).
At 5 p.m., rounding off events on the Tuesday of ITB, the LGBTQ+ Networking Reception of TOMONTOUR will be taking place, the annual event featuring important actors from the global travel industry, which this year is again being sponsored by the IGLTA, Pink Pillow Berlin and Visit Brussels.
ITB Berlin Convention: Diversity & Inclusion Track
The Diversity & Inclusion Track at the ITB Berlin Convention on the Green Stage in Hall 3.1 promises fascinating discussions on topics including diversity at the workplace, the industry’ response to global turmoil, and the important issue of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the global travel industry.