Virgin Atlantic announced at the Attitude Awards on Wednesday, October 9 that it is working on initiatives to enable LGBTQ+ travellers to “confidently” book travel to destinations where they can “truly be themselves”.
Juha Järvinen, chief commercial officer, said: “Launching early next year, we will be introducing new services and experiences, including LGBTQ+ tailored holiday planning services [and] destination guides as well as inclusive hotel recommendations.
“The initiatives will empower people to discover new destinations by recommending LGBTQ+ friendly hotels, offering advice on the best ways to enjoy the destination, where to go, providing unique insights and tips, what to see – all curated by local LGBTQ+ experts.
“We’re keeping things under wraps for now but watch this space for more details in the new year.”
Järvinen noted how this year marks the 40th anniversary of Virgin Atlantic, adding: “From our very first flight on June 22, 1984, Sir Richard Branson’s vision was to shake up the aviation industry with a pioneering new approach to travel.
“We brought heart and soul to travel by embedding inclusivity in all that we do, an ethos that Richard, our founder, inspired from the very beginning and something that we live and breathe every day.
“From delivering diversity training with our partners in the Caribbean to overhauling our uniform policy and ticketing systems to support non-binary and our trans colleagues and customers, we will continue to support and drive change in the LGBTQ+ community.
“We are proud of the work we’ve done so far, but, of course, we know there’s a lot more to do, especially in the destinations we fly to.
“We stand with our friends, colleagues and customers in the LGBTQ+ community around the world, and are committed to continuing to champion inclusivity, activism [and] use our business as a force for good, just as we have done since 1984.”
