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Gay tourism

Encyclopedia : G : GA : GAY : Gay tourism

Gay tourism is a form of niche tourism marketed to gays who have an openly gay lifestyle 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 gays.

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.

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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.

When gay tourism is exclusively or primarily for the purpose of having sex it shares many of the same attributes as sex tourism.

Gay tourism might also coincide with special gay events such as annual gay pride parades, gay neighborhood festivals and such gay community gatherings as 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.

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.

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.

The "14th International Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo" in 2006 will visit six U.S. cities. The annual Expo series is produced by Community Marketing, a gay tourism research and travel marketing firm.

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.

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.

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