NEW YORK -- The first International Conference on Gay and Lesbian
Tourism, held in early April in New York City, attracted 100
attendees representing convention and visitors bureaus, tourist
offices and suppliers from throughout the world.
"We were overwhelmed," said Tom Roth, president of Community
Marketing Inc., the San Francisco-based gay travel marketing firm
that organized the event. "We initially planned on 25 to 40
participants but had to keep increasing our block at the host hotel
until we reached our capacity of 100. As a result, next year we are
planning an even larger conference."
In addition to attracting longtime courtiers of the gay and
lesbian market -- such as American Airlines; Key West, Fla., and
the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau -- the event also
attracted several destinations and suppliers that are relatively
new to the market, including the Atlantic City (N.J.) Convention
and Visitors Authority, the Barcelona (Spain) Tourist Board, Berlin
Tourism Marketing, Finnair, the Pittsburgh CVB, Hong Kong Tourist
Association and Scandinavian Airlines.
Most conference attendees also exhibited at the eighth
International Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo, an event also
organized by Community Marketing that took place in New York on
April 6. The expo drew nearly 2,000 attendees, according to
Roth.
Roth said that the entry of new destinations and suppliers into
the gay and lesbian market was among "the most exciting part for
us."
He also said that a growth in gay group events is a trend to
note.
"Sure, destinations like Palm Springs, Calif., can attract a
large number of FITs," he told Travel Weekly. "But what about
Bloomington, Ind., or New Haven, Conn.? There is a huge and growing
number of cultural, sports and professional organizations that hold
frequent meetings and conferences. The potential of a destination
to work with these groups is fantastic."
According to J.R. Pratts, publisher of Instinct magazine, "The
gay travel market is still in its infancy, and as the gay and
lesbian community goes forward, we can only see growth in the
future."
The San Francisco Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo will be
held Oct. 24 at the Argent Hotel. For additional information on the
event, call (415) 437-3800; e-mail [email protected],
or visit www.mark8ing.com.
New travel information resources
Gay and lesbian travelers, as well as the agents who serve them,
have several new resources to use to stay current on supplier and
destination news.
Among recent entrants are QT magazine, an Internet-based gay
travel magazine, and Instinct, a glossy monthly magazine that
serves a broad young gay male readership and includes detailed
travel write-ups and humorous travel essays.
October will witness a brand-new player, as Passport, a glossy
magazine from the publishers of San Francisco-based QSF magazine,
will make its debut with an initial distribution of 175,000.
Passport's circulation will be maintained partially by
controlled distribution through retail travel agencies nationwide,
according to Don Tuthill, publisher.
"Passport magazine will be the Conde Nast Traveler of gay and
lesbian media," Tuthill told Travel Weekly. "Setting it apart from
other magazines, Passport also will pay particular attention to the
needs of the gay and lesbian business traveler by covering business
destinations that are largely ignored by leisure travel
publications."
Tuthill said that Passport's Web site will "extend and enhance
the content of the print magazine as well as provide interactivity
between the staff of Passport and the readers."
Meanwhile, in the latest in a series of gay media consolidation,
PlanetOut,
an Internet media company serving the gay and lesbian market,
acquired Out
& About, whose properties include the Out & About
travel newsletter, travel guidebooks and a Web site for gays and
lesbians.
Out & About co-founders David Alport and Billy Kolber-Stuart
will manage the development of PlanetOut travel content on its Web
site while continuing to run the Out & About properties.