Kuoni is to roll out bespoke training materials to its entire retail network on how to sell to the LGBT market.
The operator claims the move will make it the first shop network to boast a standard level of knowledge and confidence in selling to this sector of the market.
The firm said it means it can also “confidently” offer advice to independent travel agents selling its holidays to gay and lesbian customers.
The news comes a year after the operator, which currently has 47 own-branded branches, including John Lewis concession stores, launched its own team of LGBT experts.
Mark Duguid, vice president, commercial and product management, said training all Kuoni shop staff to a similar level on how to sell to the LGBT market meant agents would be able to deal with enquiries sensitively and knowledgeably.
Staff will be trained on how to sell to the LGBT market in March after the operator’s experts have created a bespoke training guide.
He said: “We are now looking to take our training to the next level and create some training materials to roll out to our 300 travel experts so they are confident in giving advice to our LGBT customers. There’s no ‘go to’ resource so we’ll create it ourselves; it’s never been done before.”
According to the Kuoni Worldwide Trends Report 2017, the operator has enjoyed a 22% increase in bookings for same-sex honeymoons for 2017.
Duguid said: “We no longer assume a honeymoon booking is for a heterosexual couple.“
He added the move would also help third-party travel agents who book holidays through Kuoni’s shop staff and wanted help on selling holidays to the LGBT sector.
“A number of agency groups have contacted us but we have never been able to say that our agents can give great advice on selling to the LGBT market but rolling out this training means we will confidently be able to go after this trade business,” he said.