Why Attitude Travels, the gay travel agency, is stopping

Dec. 01 2013

by Marc Dedonder

Attitude Travels is stopping. After 8 years at the service of gays and lesbians, the only 100% gay French tour operator, launched by Stéphane Loiselier in 2003, is closing its doors. The decision is not very surprising, after the company went into receivership this fall. Stéphane made it official by posting a video on the Attitude Travels website yesterday.

Since this morning, messages of support have been pouring in on Facebook, as very personal thanks. "I've been inundated with messages since last night. It brings tears to my eyes and I tell myself that I was right to fight like this for 8 years. A lot of memories are coming back, it's magical".

The work of Stéphane Loiselier is also praised by professionals. Clark Massad, for example, European ambassador of the IGLTA, the international gay and lesbian tourism association, evokes the "successful bet of Attitude Travels, which has given a very positive image of gay tourism in France. It has met a real demand for tourism products adapted to the gay and lesbian market, designed by and for gays and lesbians. It will leave a void.

So does this closure mean that the gay tourism market is going badly? Certainly not! All the figures show it, this market is booming, everywhere in the world, and in particular in emerging sectors like South America or India. "This closure is the personal decision of an operator ", confirms Clark Massad, "who, like all independent agencies, had to face a market that is increasingly risky, with increasingly low margins. But the gay tourism market in France is now mature. And consumer demand is there, despite the crisis.

In Brussels, Jimmy Pauwaert, fromHolidaypride, Belgium's "straight friendly" travel agency, agrees: " I am sad for Stéphane. But the gay market remains a very good one. The crisis is there, of course, and it also affects gays. But gay travel agencies still have a future, if they manage to innovate, to diversify their offer, beyond the 100% gay, and if they don't take too many financial risks ".

The Attitude Travels adventure is not quite over. Stéphane Loiselier will already honor all the trips purchased by his clients. He will then accompany his team and his clients to Gran Canaria, for the Gay Week, at Villas Blancas, in Playa del Ingles.

And it is not said that there will not be a next Croisière Attitude: "I am currently in discussions to sell the gay cruise business to a major tourism operator. If it comes to fruition, I will be the supervisor of the project. And the Attitude gay cruise adventure can continue. But I will only do so if I am sure that this cruise will not remain at the quay".

Any other plans? "Torest! I've been working 7 days a week for 8 years. I had become Attitude Travels, I no longer had a personal life. I lived a crazy thing, with a small dream team. So I'm going to sit back, enjoy myself and let all the memories come back.