Elle Pinkard, who founded a travel agency specialising in LGBTQ+ families three years ago, has revealed plans to expand after being named Mentee of the Year in the Individual Entrepreneur category at last week’s International Women in Travel and Tourism Forum Awards (IWTTF).
Homeworker Elle, a member of PTS, started Destination Rainbow in 2022 after not finding LGBTQ families ‘represented anywhere in the travel industry’. “I know firsthand how difficult it is to plan a holiday as an LGBTQ family. You’ve not just got to find the right resort, but also whether the destination is going to be safe and welcoming, and then you still worry about it when you get there,” she said.
“Is there going to be a homophobic member of staff or people from other countries who aren’t tolerant?”
The mother-of-three, who is also co-founder of LGBTQ+ Families London, which arranges meet-ups and resources for LGBTQ+ parents, has grown her business organically using her connections and word of mouth. She is now hoping to create family-friendly hosted trips as well as launching an accreditation scheme to acknowledge suppliers who meet diversity and inclusivity criteria.
“One of my goals is to create hosted trips where families can come together in the same place, so their kids can play and share experiences,” said Elle.
She is currently looking to take on another member of staff at Destination Rainbow. “I really want to find the right person with a travel background who is as passionate as I am about inclusive travel.” said Elle.
“They may need to be a bit more than a homeworker; they would be somebody who would like to have more involvement with the company, so that they can help me develop the Destination Rainbow Accreditation Programme.”
Elle is also expanding her other brand, Adventures By, which she launched at the same time as Destination Rainbow to offer tailormade trips. It currently employs five homeworkers and it will open an adventure hub in Ashdown Forest two days a week in July.
“Two of the homeworkers who work with me are local, so we’re going to be a team of three who are based there. I’m very excited,” she said.
Both Adventures By and Destination Rainbow customers will be able to pop into the ‘adventure hub’. “They could potentially book a trip with us, and then we’re hoping to host events there with our favourite suppliers, because they’ve got some really gorgeous outdoor space there that we think would fit in nicely with what they do,” added Elle.
The awards are run by Women in Travel CIC. See the full list of the IWTTF winners here.
