“We knew that Las Vegas would be the perfect location to host our 25th Anniversary Celebration, and the city delivered a spectacular and memorable week for our attendees,” IGLTA Executive Director John Tanzella said.  

The convention featured eight additional sessions on mission-related issues like accessing the gay and lesbian market, marketing strategies for staying competitive in gay and lesbian tourism, and unique destinations for gay and lesbian travelers.  

One of the programmatic highlights of the conference was a plenary session on Friday, May 2, with legendary American author Armistead Maupin, whose literary works include the hugely popular Tales of the City. Interviewed by Bob Witeck, IGLTA member and CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications, Maupin shared life stories and rich anecdotes about his writing, travels, and the film and stage adaptations of his books. Maupin also gave hints about his work in progress of bringing Tales of the City to Broadway as a musical.  

"It was a treasure just to talk with Armistead Maupin," Witeck said. "My hope was simply to bring out his immense skill as an unparalleled storyteller. He kept IGLTA attendees completely silent and awaiting every single word. That is a remarkable talent, and one that rewarded everyone at the convention this year."  

New for 2008 was the organization's first-ever media trade show on Friday, May 2. Designed to help travel professionals make connections with the growing spectrum of gay and lesbian media worldwide, the event was attended by representatives from over 30 print and broadcast outlets, including Beige (United Kingdom), Q Travel (Spain), Outlooks Magazine (Canada), GayWired Media (United States) and LOGO-Online (United States).  

During the convention, IGLTA accounced the members of its new Board of Directors, including incoming Board Chairman Bryan Herb of Zoom Vacations, who succeeds Matt Skallerud of Pink Banana Media. Those newly elected or elected to serve on new seats include George Carrancho, General Board Seat (American Airlines Rainbow Sales Team), Cordey Lash, General Board Seat (Wyndham Hotel Group) and Veronica Torres, Secretary (Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau). Bruce McDonald (Travel Gay Canada) was re-ected and will serve as Vice-Chairman and Theresa Belpulsi (Destination D.C.) was also re-elected and will continue to serve as Treasurer. Thomas Bomkes (Tom on Tour), Yves Pelletier (Orbitz Canada) and Bob Poland (Don’t Go There Travel) will continue to serve with general board seats.  

The new group of leaders, which held its first meeting in Vegas, hopes to not only continue making IGLTA the go-to resource for information on the international LGBT travel market, but to also expand its influence worldwide in regions like South America and Asia.  

"The energy was palpable in our first meeting. Our new group is ethnically and professionally diverse, and everyone brings fantastic ideas, commitment and dedication to gay and lesbian travel," Herb said. "It is exciting to be in a room full of talented individuals who are unique in their individual disciplines but share a common goal and passion. With this kind of synergy, it's going to be an incredible and productive year."  

Bringing the conference to a memorable close was a vintage Vegas-themed gala dinner on Saturday, May 3. Celebrating the organization’s silver birthday, the gala highlighted the many achievements of IGLTA and its members over the past quarter of a century. Three awards were presented during the evening, including the Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award to Lima Tours (Peru), the Chairman's Award to Columbia FunMaps Owner and Publisher Alan Beck, and the Director's Award to Stephen Smith for his seven years of dedicated service on IGLTA's Board of Directors.  

“Recognizing our 25th anniversary, this convention was a milestone in the history of IGLTA because it brought together gay and lesbian travel professionals and innovators from all over the world,” Tanzella said.  

The leading Sponsors of the 25th Anniversary Convention included the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Harrah's Entertainment, Travelocity, Hyatt Hotels, PlanetOut Inc, and Tourism Toronto.