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 Travel & Outdoors | December 2006 
Gay Travelers Rack Up Air Miles
 365Gay.com
| | Though Puerto Vallarta and Puerto Rico remain strong, higher income respondents show increased interest in visiting South America, while interest in the Caribbean appears to be waning among these travelers. |
Chances are you were among the millions of people on the move over the holiday weekend. In fact a recent study shows gays and lesbians the most traveled of Americans.
The study, by Community Marketing, a San Francisco firm that advises cities and companies on how to attract LGBT visitors, found that gays with higher incomes travel even more frequently, especially for leisure purposes.
Those with household incomes of over $100,000 took an average of eight overnight trips, and those with household incomes exceeding $250,000 took a median of 11 trips in the last year.
This is significantly higher than the 5 overnight trips taken last year by the average American LGBT respondent.
Respondents with household incomes of $250,000+ indicate they prefer places that are restful, luxury oriented, and either mostly LGBT or exclusively gay.
The top destinations visited for leisure in the last year were New York, London, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Palm Springs, Los Angeles and Ft. Lauderdale.
The study also found that gay men and lesbians are prepared to travel internationally.
Seventy-one percent of US survey respondents, and 90 percent of higher income respondents hold a valid passport. Only two percent of respondents with household incomes in excess of $250,000 said they do not have a passport.
European destinations show growing interest among higher income gays and lesbians. The United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain and Germany show the largest number of expected high-income visitors in the next twelve months. The United Kingdom and France are of even more interest to those with household incomes of $250,000+.
Though Puerto Vallarta and Puerto Rico remain strong, higher income respondents show increased interest in visiting South America, while interest in the Caribbean appears to be waning among these travelers.
Gays and lesbians may be growing tired of visiting these island nations that are often not portrayed as gay friendly Community Marketing noted, adding that Curaçao and Puerto Rico are the only Caribbean destinations with active LGBT outreach.
Higher income respondents also indicate strong interest in seeing new places, and show particular interest in visiting South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, China and Thailand.
The study found that 27 percent of higher-income respondents took a cruise vacation in the last twelve months, compared to 18 percent of the U.S. full-field of LGBT respondents.
In addition, 29 percent of the higher income respondents who took a cruise vacation in the last year took more than one cruise during the year.
The median amount spent per day for travel increases along with income. Respondents with household incomes exceeding $250,000 spent an average of $470 per day; those with household incomes of over $100,000 spent $320; and the full-field of US respondents at all income levels spent $210 per day.
The median length of trips (4 nights) was the same for all three groups. These higher income respondents traveled by plane for 62 percent of their overnight trips, and spent 24 nights in hotels during the last year.
Meanwhile, a second recent study shows that nearly half of all gay men and lesbians say that a destinations gay-friendliness is important to them when making leisure travel choices.
Over a quarter of the respondents to the national survey conducted by the Travel Industry Association in partnership with Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc. said that gay-friendliness is extremely or very important as a consideration in travel planning. |
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