Gay tourism

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Gay tourism is a form of niche tourism marketed to gays who are open about their sexual orientation and who wish to travel to gay travel destinations in order to participate to some extent in the gay life of the destination area. As an industry it has some substantial maturity, and includes such gay tourism specialists as travel agents, tour companies, cruise lines and travel advertising and promotions companies who market these destinations to the gay community.

Major companies in the travel industry have become aware of the substantial money (also known as "pink money") generated by this marketing niche, and have made it a point to align themselves with the gay community and gay tourism campaigns. According to Tourism Intelligence International (2000), some 10% of international tourists were gay or lesbians, accounting for more than 70 million arrivals worldwide. This important market segment is expected to continue to grow as a result of a change in world-wide attitudes to homosexuality. American gay and lesbian tourists are estimated to generate $54.1 bn a year— about 10% of the total US travel industry.

Outside those companies, gay tourists are being offered other tools, such as lgbt hospitality networks, i.e. networks of lesbians, gay men, bi or trans who offer each other the gift of short term hospitality during their travels. Also available are gay expatriates clubs, which also function to give information and ressources to lgbt tourists travelling in their cities.


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[edit] Gay travel destinations

Gay travel destinations are popular among gays because they usually have permissive or liberal attitudes towards gays, feature a prominent gay infrastructure (bars, businesses, restaurants, hotels, nightlife, entertainment, media, organisations, etc.) — these being often gay-owned and/or managed, the opportunity to socialize with other gays, and the feeling that one can relax safely among other gay people.

Gay travel destinations are often large cities, although not exclusively, and often coincide with the existence of gay neighborhoods. These municipalities and their tourism bureaus often work actively to develop their reputations as places for gays to travel to, commonly by aligning themselves to local gay organisations. Travel analysts state that the existence of a core gay friendly population is often the primary catalyst for the development of a gay-friendly tourist destination.


Gay tourism might also coincide with special gay events such as annual gay pride parades, gay neighborhood festivals and such gay community gatherings as gay chorus festivals and concerts, gay square dance conventions, gay sports meets such as Gay Games, World Outgames or Eurogames and conferences of national and international gay organisations. Gay tourism blossoms during these peak periods.

The US market is regarded as being the most important source of gay and lesbian tourists, followed by the European market as the next most important.

Gay travelers spend $64 billion a year on gay travel, according to Community Marketing Inc. The adult GLBT community has a total economic spending power of more than $600 billion per year, according to Wietck Combs. Philadelphia and Community Marketing found that for every one dollar invested in gay tourism marketing, $153 was returned in direct economic spending in shops, hotels, restaurants and attractions. In October 2006, the Travel Industry of America will release its first gay travel study. In September 2006, Community Marketing Inc will release its 11th Annual Gay and Lesbian Travel Survey. Since 2002, there has been a historic rise in gay tourism marketing. Destinations such as Philadelphia, Dallas and Ft. Lauderdale have engaged in gay tourism campaigns.

The gay cruise industry is experiencing a significant growth period. The first gay tour operator is RSVP Vacations. In addition, for lesbians, Olivia is the tour operator with an exceptional reputation. Community Marketing Inc. found in research studies that gay business travelers are 30% more likely to convert to a leisure visitor.

Philadelphia was the first destination in the world to create and air a television commercial specifically geared towards the gay traveler. Philadelphia was also the first destination to commission a research study aimed at a specific destination to learn about gay travel to a specific city.

[edit] List of gay travel destinations

The following destinations have proven to be popular over the course of time. They are listed below along with some noteworthy gay statistics that impact their desirability as gay travel destinations.

With expanding efforts to woo savvy gay travellers many areas are trying to catch the attention of this market and promote themselves as gay-friendly. Regions throughout the world from the KwaZulu-Natal to the Dominican Republic to Nepal are putting their pinkest faces forward in the hope of expanding their tourism sector.

  • Africa
    • Cape Town, South Africa: Estimated that 70 000 gay and lesbian foreign tourists visited Cape Town in 2001.
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
    • Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Considered a gay "mecca". Gay Games host 1998.
    • Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain: Most prominent gay neighbourhood is "Gaixample", nicknamed after the official government zone Eixample
    • Belgrade, Serbia
    • Berlin, Germany: Before the Nazi regime it was known to be the gay capital of Europe. It has since regained the title of at least being in the top 5.
    • Blackpool, England
    • Brighton, England
    • Cologne, Germany: Site of the 2005 International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) annual convention. Will be the host city of the Gay Games in 2010.
    • Geneva, Switzerland, the host city of the 2006 ILGA World Conference
    • Copenhagen, Denmark
    • Gran Canaria, Spain: The town of Playa del Inglés is especially popular with gays from northern Europe (England, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) and from Spain. Gaylife is centered around the Yumbo Centrum shopping center with many gay bars and night spots. Gay beach near the Dunes of Maspalomas.
    • Ibiza, Spain
    • London, England: Home to G-A-Y, one of the largest gay clubs in all of Europe. Soho is the focus of the gay community.
    • Madrid, Spain: especially Chueca
    • Manchester, England: Hosts annual Gay Pride festival centred around the large gay village.
    • Munich, Germany near the Sendlinger Tor
    • Mykonos, Greece
    • Paris, France: An important destination for gay and lesbian travellers. Site of gay village Le Marais.
    • Sitges, Catalunya, Spain, south of Barcelona
    • Stockholm, Sweden: hosts the biggest gay pride parade of the Nordic countries every August.
    • Torre del Lago, Italy: hosts also the biggest Italian gay event, in August.
  • Mexico
    • Cancún: Holds annuals Cancún International Gay Festival in May.
    • Puerto Vallarta: Currently Mexico's most popular gay destination.
    • Guadalajara: Nicknamed "The latinamerican San Francisco"

[edit] Gay tourism specialists

The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) holds an annual world convention and four symposia in different tourism destinations around the world. Each symposium attracts over 100 representatives of tour agencies and travel publications that specialise in the gay and lesbian market. The association was founded in 1983, and it currently represents over 900 members. Its headquarters are in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Community Marketing, Inc. of San Francisco was the first research and marketing management company to specialize in the gay and lesbian tourism industry starting in 1991. In 2006, the company served over 700 travel industry clients - showing how broadbased outreach is to the gay and lesbian travel community.

After 14 years, Community Marketing's International Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo was sold in 2006 to HX Media, which will rebrand the Expo to the Gay Life Travel Expo in 2007.

The Out Traveler, from the publishers of Out and The Advocate, is a glossy magazine aimed at gay and lesbian travellers. It is published six times yearly. One of Europe's gay and lesbian travel marketing specialists is Out Now Consulting.

[edit] The "gay-ing" of the travel industry

Executive Travel Associates, a full-service travel management company, writes in their Travel News article "Same-sex vacations" (Tuesday, April 06, 2004) that "The travel industry, already excited about the growing niche of gay tourism, hopes the recent surge in same-sex marriage translates into a new travel segment: gay honeymoons."

Travel companies of all types are aligning themselves with the gay community in general and the gay tourism market, specifically. American Airlines was a sponsor of the "International Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo" in 2005.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts provides a "gay & lesbian travel portal" on its website and sponsors such major GLBT organisations as National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The November 2006 World Travel Market event in London included a gay travel marketing workshop seminar hosted by Out Now Consulting described as a 'How to' guide for travel professionals wanting to target gay travelers.

[edit] Gay hospitality networks

Lesbian & Gay Hospitality Exchange International is a growing network of lesbians and gay men from around the world who offer their hospitality to other members at no charge. These hosts, in turn, are received when they travel. There are currently more than 500 listings in over 30 countries.

It was founded in 1991 as GHEI - Gay Hospitality Exchange International - and registered as a non-profit organization designed to provide a service to our community. The organization changed its name to Lesbian & Gay Hospitality Exchange International in 1993.

[edit] Resources by lgbt expatriates groups abroad

Social groups for resident and visiting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender expatriates and friends exist all over the world. They usually are a very good resource for lgbt tourists and can for instance provide lists of lgbt meeting places or even invite tourists who happen to be in the city to various events.

Such groups already exist in a few countries such as Switzerland (Gay International Group in Geneva), Ireland (Gay International Group in Dublin) or Argentina (Gays Away in Buenos Aires). These groups usually meet on one particular day and can help lgbt tourists to have more information about the region, or simply give them the occasion to meet lgbt expatriates - sometimes of their own country - in a relaxed atmosphere.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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