IGLTA Launches Facebook-powered Chatbot to Assist LGBTQ Community in Planning Travel
- Joey Amato
- Jul 20, 2018
- 2 min read
The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association has teamed up with the Paris-based startup company Hopstay to develop an LGBTQ travel chatbot to assist travelers in planning their trips. The chatbot, which resides within Facebook Messenger, is available on desktop, tablet and mobile and shares LGBTQ-welcoming travel opportunities, including recommendations for destinations, travel agents, hotels, transport, tours, events and special offers in more than 80 countries.
IGLTA members also will benefit from this additional mobile channel that will drive on-the-go LGBTQ travelers to their offerings, products and services, which are all housed on the IGLTA website. The chatbot is just one step in a major effort IGLTA is making to assist travelers in finding LGBTQ-welcoming opportunities through new online resources and enhanced content.
“We realize that travelers are tech savvy and rely more and more on social media and mobile devices when planning and looking for inspiration for their next trip,” said John Tanzella, IGLTA President/CEO. “Our LGBTQ travel chatbot not only provides insight for travelers who know where they want to go, but also provides inspiration and recommendations for those who aren’t quite sure where to go next. The Inspire Me feature can even suggest LGBTQ-welcoming tours, events and special offers around the world that a traveler may not have previously found in their research.”
“As supporters of the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ-welcoming travel, we are proud to work with IGLTA on their travel chatbot,” said Lucas Lovell, Managing Director of Hopstay. “As consumer trends change, it’s important for travel organizations to evolve and ensure their content is distributed in a way that meets user expectations. The IGLTA chatbot serves the traveler in a multitude of ways, from finding out more about LGBTQ-welcoming destinations to all the latest events on the LGBTQ calendar, directly from their mobile device on a platform they’re using every day.”
For more information and to see the IGLTA Travel Chatbot live, go to:
https://www.messenger.com/t/IGLTA
