WILLEMSTAD, Curacao
-- Forging new marketing ground for the Caribbean, the Curacao
Tourist Board launched a Web site aimed at courting gay and lesbian
leisure travelers.
The site, located
at www.gaycuracao.com and subtitled "We Live and Let
Live," was launched to specifically showcase the island as a
"gay-friendly" destination, according to officials.
"This Web site not
only shows that we are open to all walks of life, but that we
embrace it and have attractions and hotels that specifically
support the [gay] lifestyle," said Jim Hepple, Curacao's director
of tourism, in a statement.
Gaycuracao.com
highlights five hotels on the island that belong to the
International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) -- the
Avila Beach Hotel, Floris Suite Hotel, Hilton Curacao, Hotel
Kura-Hulanda and Papayago Beach Resort -- as well as seven other
gay-friendly hotels, and nightspots popular with locals and
visitors.
Other key features
include a bulletin board for postings; an island overview,
including history and location; activity listings; and -- in the
near future -- online booking links.
To contact the
reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Kenneth Kiesnoski
at [email protected].