| About the Book |
First Book on Gay and Lesbian Tourism Marketing
London, United Kingdom, September 20, 2007,-- Elsevier Limited and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) are proud to announce a first-of-its-kind book in tourism marketing called, Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing, written by Philadelphia native Jeff Guaracino. The book will be released world-wide in November 2007. Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing is a 176-page “how to” manual for destinations, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators and other companies in the hospitality industry who are seeking to learn the best practices in gay and lesbian marketing. The book is divided into three categories: best practices in tourism marketing, case studies and interviews with the experts in the gay and lesbian travel market today. Readers will learn about how to apply the research; tips on building stakeholder support; strategies to win convention, meeting and international sports market business; find best practices in gay and lesbian marketing; and even a dictionary of terms particularly relevant to the gay traveler that could be used in marketing programs (and even terms that should be avoided!). The goal of the book is this: to provide marketing professionals with the knowledge gained over many decades provided directly by the pioneers in gay and lesbian tourism marketing. The book provides practical information, sometimes in first-person, as to make it immediately relevant to the rapidly growing interest in gay and lesbian travelers from marketers and communications professionals. The book is dedicated to the business of gay tourism and how to design a successful tourism marketing program. Guaracino, vice president of communications for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, developed the Philadelphia Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay tourism campaign with his colleagues. He wrote this book, “in his spare time, which means nights and weekends” said Guaracino, “and is essentially an export of the marketing knowledge gained at GPTMC and from working within the tourism and communications industries.” The Philadelphia campaign is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in gay tourism marketing and broke new ground. This campaign has won top awards from the Travel Industry of America, the Association of National Advertisers, PR Week, the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International and has been the subject of a number of college case studies. While Guaracino’s experience in tourism marketing lead to Elsevier offering him a modest contract, the book is written for a global reader. (Jane McDonald quote here on why Guaracino was the right person to write the book on gay tourism because of his work at Greater Philadelphia Tourism and his widely held contacts in the gay tourism industry). Gay and lesbian tourism marketing is of growing in interest to the hospitality industry. Guaracino has been invited to speak at the National Tour Association convention in November 2007. In addition, Guaracino will also speak at the North Dallas Texas Gay Chamber of Commerce (September 2007), the South Florida Travel Show (November 2007) and the International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism (December 2007). He has also presented at the Boston Herald Travel Show, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau (now new name) and the International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism. Guaracino’s work is not limited to gay tourism marketing. Guaracino is leading the Philadelphia communications programs for GPTMC in the Canadian, Hispanic and African-American, and general destination travel markets. His work has won industry awards for (list). He most recently spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention (July 2007) on the importance of, and strategies to, achieve diversity within the communications and tourism industries. “If you are even thinking of navigating the ever-growing gay travel market, Guaracino’s book is your must-have marketing roadmap,” said Ed Salvato, editor in chief, The Out Traveler and corporate director of travel media at Planet Out, Inc. “Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing is chockablock with actionable advice from the pioneers in gay travel, who will help you avoid all-too-common pitfalls and position your gay tourism campaign for success.” “We applaud Jeff Guaracino and his efforts to provide companies news to the GLBT market with a guide for market success,” said Michael Depatie and Niki Leondakis, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. “In 2006, we were able to track well over $5 million in business from the gay and lesbian community, and we know that number is much higher if you count community members that have not yet identified themsevles through our customer loyalty programs.”
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