We would like to give a huge thanks to all of the local businesses in Fort Lauderdale who are working closely with us to make this convention a huge success. We guarantee that you will be in the company of some amazing LGBT and LGBT-welcoming businesses here in South Florida!

IGLTA has registered our convention with the US State Department as an official convention. This will help ease the time and requirements when needing a visa for travel in the US. For more information on visa regulations and what’s needed to come to the United States, please visit the State Department’s Visa Website.

IGLTA’s 2010 Annual Global Convention was held in June in Antwerp, Belgium. It was the largest event the association has ever had outside of North America. The event included innovative education, amazing networking and some very valuable business connections. Take a look at some images from the event and if you missed anything or want to remember what you learned, you can take a look at the education available from the convention.

PowerPoints and PDFs from Educational Sessions: (NOTE: If a presentation is not listed, please contact IGLTA to request contact information for the session speakers.)

• IGLTA’s State of the Association 2010 ~ Presented by John Tanzella, IGLTA
• Web 2.0 and the LGBT Market ~ Presented by Matt Skallerud, Pink Banana Media
• London 2012: A Case Study ~ Presented by Martine Ainsworth-Wells, Visit London
• World Out Games: Antwerp 2013 ~ Presented by Bart Abeel, Antwerp Pride
• Intelligent Search Marketing ~ Presented by Farhad Divecha, AccuraCast
• Long Term Successes and Strategies from the Experts ~ Moderated by Tanya Churchmuch, Tourisme Montreal / Girlports.com

Highly hailed as the ‘Venice of America,’ Fort Lauderdale is a fusion of rich culture, world class international business, and a dash of sass. Nicknamed the ‘Venice of America’ because of its many picturesque inland waterways, Fort Lauderdale offers its residents and tourists, a world-class ambience of tropical splendor with business flair.

Nestled between Miami and Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale is about 33 square miles with a population of nearly 180,000. It is the largest of the 30 Broward Country municipalities and the 7th largest city in the state of Florida. Located in the east-central portion of Broward County, it is embraced by the Atlantic Ocean and New River.

The city is named for a Second Seminole War fortification that was built on the banks of New River in 1838. In this year, a battle over Seminole agricultural lands ensued and Major William Lauderdale led Tennessee volunteers south along the east coast of Florida to capture these lands. In his honor, three forts were constructed; unfortunately neither of them are intact as of today.

With indulgences such as the world-famous Fort Lauderdale Beach, picturesque Riverwalk which houses the city’s arts, science, culture and history district, Las Olas Boulevard, acclaimed as being Fort Lauderdale’s pinnacle of fashion, and fine dining. Not to mention its diverse range of industries which include marine, manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate, high technology, avionics/aerospace, and many other numerous businesses, universities, and federal offices scattered throughout this tropical haven.

Walking along, the shores of Fort Lauderdale Beach, admiring the flourishing businesses and eventful entertainment, one can only stand in the tropical breeze and admire everything Fort Lauderdale has to offer. The City of Sunny Fort Lauderdale would like to Welcome you Here!

For more information, visit ftlaud.fl.us/about.htm, www.OldFortLauderdale.org, and Sunny.org/Rainbow.

We are so incredibly excited for our convention in Fort Lauderdale, May 2011! This event is going to be the premiere event in LGBT tourism and will include businesses from all over the world. You will network with, learn from and meet the leaders in our industry. Stay tuned to this website for more information.

Welcome to IGLTA’s Convention Website for Unleashed: Fort Lauderdale 2011. Over the course of the next few months you will find all the information you need to plan your trip.

Stay tuned for everything you need to know about our host city: Fort Lauderdale! Find out why it ranks so high among destinations in the US.

Click here to find out what educational sessions you missed in Antwerp. Also, stay tuned to the itinerary where we’ll be featuring all you can expect in Fort Lauderdale!

Registration is now live. Make sure you register before 31 January 2011 in order to get the early bird discount!