Unimpressed by the tired and uninspiring choices offered in organised gay singles holidays, fellow travellers Conrad Rossouw, Gerry Forristal & Kent Milne launched their own adventure company, Unscene Travel.
The three founders have been running gay meetups in Edinburgh for two years and the idea sparked from there.
Unscene Travel is a new venture organising gay singles holidays. The idea is simple – organised group travel for gay singles or couples with activities included and with flexibility for travelers to choose their own extra activities.
Initially focused on Europe, the inaugural trip was to Berlin in April 2016 followed by Madrid on the 17th of June 2016. Additional destinations will be added throughout 2016 and in 2017 the company launches its South Africa itinerary.
Co-founder Conrad Rossouw said: “We love travel and we especially love traveling with our friends and, to be frank, that’s how all of this started.
“Most of the gay holiday companies that we had previously encountered just weren’t offering the diversity of travel experiences we wanted. They tended to focus on the same boring old ‘scene resorts’. Sure, we wanted to pop into the local gay scenes, but we didn’t want our trip to revolve around them.
“So, we got out our maps, decided where we wanted to go and began planning our own trips. As time went on more friends joined us or took advice from us. Now, we’re a company!”
Co-director Gerry Forristal said: “We were amazed to discover just how many gay singles were interested in organised group gay travel.
“We genuinely thought that this market was well taken care of. In fact, what we discovered is the opposite. Gay adventure travel is a growing sector with a big opportunity for new companies like Unscene Travel. We thought, wouldn’t it be terrific if we could make a business out of one of our favourite hobbies? So we did.”
The advent and growth of low cost airlines has made it easier for gay singles to book their own holidays but there is a gap in the market for organised adventure holidays for gay singles.
The founders say that gay singles holidaymakers are too often left behind in the thoughts and considerations of many holiday companies; excessively high single supplements, lack of destination choice and the same old resorts offering the same old things.
Unscene Travel sees the emerging community of LGBTI folk that want to travel together as friends and getting to know each other along the way as part of an organised tour as a big business opportunity.. This has created an opportunity for those entrepreneurial fellow travellers who are prepared to take the bull by the proverbial horn.
Co-founder Kent Milne said: “I’ve been in the travel business for over 25 years and have always wanted to start a gay holiday company and recent times have made this more possible than ever before. When Conrad first approached me in early 2015 I jumped at the chance.
“The laws and attitudes of many countries have changed so significantly that gay single men or indeed couples can travel safely, have their dream gay holidays and be assured of a generous warm welcome.”
Conrad Rossouw added: “We’re very excited about the next few years. Sure, we’ll start small and build slowly as we want quality over quantity. Our goal is that we become the most renowned for the quality and fun of our gay singles holidays.”
About Unscene Travel
Unscene Travel organises hosted group gay travel for single or coupled gay & bi guys. Groups will range in size from 10 – 15 people per trip & flexible payment terms are available for almost all of their trips.
Visit www.unscenetravel.com to find out more.
