Mark Schollenberg

undefinedIn 2010, Pride Toronto had an impact of $136 million and created 600 jobs. Pride Winnipeg has not yet studied its economic impact in our city.  But we do know that last year more than 15,000 attended the Pride Festival at the Forks, and hundreds of those were from out of town. And any event that brings external dollars into the Winnipeg economy is a good thing.

One way that businesses show they welcome GLBT customers is the rainbow sticker on the door.  The problem with this is that this sticker can mean anything from “I’m a business who actively supports the GLBT community” to “My cousin put this on my door 12 years ago and I can’t remember what it means.” While I encourage businesses to show their pride in this way, consumers need to look for other clues to find out just how friendly a business is.

Biz leaders sharpening rainbow marketing strategy

What if Manitoba’s licence plate reflected what was possible for tourism in this province? The size of the Canadian LGBT travel market is substantial.  According to the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, this market is valued at $7 billion annually.  To put that number in perspective, that’s about the size of Canada’s pharmaceutical market.  So Manitobans should be asking themselves: how many of those dollars are they capturing?  Just how “friendly” is Manitoba?