BY MATTHEW RODGERS
dot429
A new survey conducted by Community Marketing Inc. found that gay and lesbian travelers spend an average of 57 percent more on their travels than their heterosexual counterparts. The report found that gays not only spend more, but involve themselves in the local economy more than heterosexual couples. While in many places there is a tourism industry that is closely coveted by various multi-national corporations, when LGBT people travel, they engage the local economy in a statistically more effective manner. This is because many companies that cater to LGBT people’s needs are traditionally smaller in scope and more local in nature.
The major factor for where gay and lesbian people decide to spend their vacations was whether or not their destination has a reputation for being LGBT friendly or not. When taking advice on where to go, 59 percent of lesbian and 54 percent of gay travelers in the US said they relied on the recommendations of friends and family, followed by travel websites. 41 percent of gay and 36 percent of lesbian travelers said they responded to advertising that targeted an LGBT audiences.
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