How Welcome With Pride Accreditation can benefit your park

Could your tourist or mixed-use park attract new guests, strengthen its reputation and stand out in an increasingly competitive tourism market?

Find out at the 2026 CRPVic Conference, where Charlie Douty, founder of Welcome With Pride, shares how Australia’s first LGBTIQ+ inclusive tourism training and accreditation program is helping parks unlock new opportunities.

LGBTIQ+ travellers are a high-value market, forecast to spend $600 billion on travel worldwide. Yet Welcome With Pride’s research with more than 1,000 LGBTIQ+ travellers found 60 per cent still hide who they are while holidaying in Australia. Charlie knows the feeling first-hand: travelling the country with his partner, he often found himself quietly questioning whether it was safe to simply be himself while staying at holiday parks. That experience led him to build a practical solution.

Today Welcome With Pride has trained thousands of tourism operators across Australia. Parks can become officially Welcome With Pride Accredited, giving travellers confidence they are choosing accommodation committed to genuine inclusion and an exceptional guest experience.

This session is about much more than accreditation. Charlie will show how an inclusive visitor experience helps parks:

• reach new visitor markets
• strengthen guest loyalty
• enhance online reputation
• create a genuine point of difference

Delegates will also hear from CRPVic Board Member Claire Height, owner of BIG4 Castlemaine Gardens Holiday Park and the first holiday park in Australia to achieve Welcome With Pride Accreditation. Claire will share her firsthand experience of the accreditation journey: how it has opened new markets, raised her park’s profile, supported her team and reinforced a culture where every guest feels genuinely welcome.

Whether you operate a small family-owned park or a large holiday destination, this practical session will provide actionable ideas that can strengthen your business while ensuring every guest enjoys a positive and memorable experience.

Join us at Marvel Stadium on 4-5 August to discover how Welcome With Pride Accreditation could become a valuable new tool for growing your park’s success.