- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
Several local businesses applaud the visitors bureau's strategy, saying gay and lesbian travelers are helping West Hollywood's tourism industry survive the recession. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / October 31, 2009) |
E-mail
Print
If you plan on protesting a ban on same-sex marriage, what better place than West Hollywood, a town known nationwide as a center for gay activism and politics?
But go there on vacation?
West Hollywood -- where more than a third of the population identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender -- is well-known to locals and draws many visitors from around the state. But it's not a major national or international destination.
Now the city, eager to shore up revenues, wants to expand its reach. And it's with good reason: Even in a slumping economy, gay and lesbian tourists tend to wield more disposable income and are more likely to spend on travel and leisure than heterosexual tourists, studies have shown.
Over the last few years, cities such as Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Chicago and Bloomington, Ind., have launched campaigns to attract gay tourists.
The gay travel segment is so hot that American Airlines, among other large corporations, has a marketing manager whose job is to reach out to that demographic.
West Hollywood's latest effort is spearheaded by a redesigned travel website (GoGayWestHollywood.com) that includes lists of hotels, clubs, bars and nighttime happenings that the visitors' bureau believes would appeal to gay and lesbian tourists.
The site also includes a photo gallery and a list of weekly events, including several nightclub parties with sexually suggestive titles, and a section on the city's raucous Halloween celebrations. The photos include shots of shirtless men in leather as well as scenes from recent rallies in opposition to a proposed ban on same-sex marriage.
The website's content may raise a few eyebrows among outsiders, concedes Bradley M. Burlingame, president of the West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau.
But he pointed out that travel bureaus for exotic vacation spots that cater to heterosexual tourists often feature attractive women in bikinis.
"It's not our purpose to be a vehicle for people to hook up," he said. "But in reality, people sometimes go on vacation in hopes of meeting someone they might like."
The city even has staff members in London and Berlin to arrange junkets for European journalists to come check out the scene.
The West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau does not have a separate budget for its campaign to attract gay and lesbian tourists, but last year's annual budget was about $1.5 million, according to public records.
Several West Hollywood business owners applaud the visitors bureau's strategy, saying gay and lesbian travelers are helping to keep the city's tourism industry relatively healthy in the worst recession in decades.
"It's a terrific market," John Douponce, general manager of Le Parc Suites Hotel, a 154-room boutique hotel, said of gay and lesbian tourists. "They are very upscale travelers."
James Sinclair, operator of the O-Bar Restaurant & Lounge on bustling Santa Monica Boulevard, said that marketing to gay and lesbian tourists made sense.
"This gives us a competitive advantage against our neighbors in L.A.," Sinclair said.
Not only that, he said, but the campaign offers gay and lesbian tourists a destination where they can feel welcome.
"Why wouldn't they come to see what it is like to be in a city of equal opportunity?"
But the main goal of the city's campaign is to draw visitors who will spend.
But go there on vacation?
West Hollywood -- where more than a third of the population identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender -- is well-known to locals and draws many visitors from around the state. But it's not a major national or international destination.
Now the city, eager to shore up revenues, wants to expand its reach. And it's with good reason: Even in a slumping economy, gay and lesbian tourists tend to wield more disposable income and are more likely to spend on travel and leisure than heterosexual tourists, studies have shown.
Over the last few years, cities such as Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Chicago and Bloomington, Ind., have launched campaigns to attract gay tourists.
The gay travel segment is so hot that American Airlines, among other large corporations, has a marketing manager whose job is to reach out to that demographic.
West Hollywood's latest effort is spearheaded by a redesigned travel website (GoGayWestHollywood.com) that includes lists of hotels, clubs, bars and nighttime happenings that the visitors' bureau believes would appeal to gay and lesbian tourists.
The site also includes a photo gallery and a list of weekly events, including several nightclub parties with sexually suggestive titles, and a section on the city's raucous Halloween celebrations. The photos include shots of shirtless men in leather as well as scenes from recent rallies in opposition to a proposed ban on same-sex marriage.
The website's content may raise a few eyebrows among outsiders, concedes Bradley M. Burlingame, president of the West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau.
But he pointed out that travel bureaus for exotic vacation spots that cater to heterosexual tourists often feature attractive women in bikinis.
"It's not our purpose to be a vehicle for people to hook up," he said. "But in reality, people sometimes go on vacation in hopes of meeting someone they might like."
The city even has staff members in London and Berlin to arrange junkets for European journalists to come check out the scene.
The West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau does not have a separate budget for its campaign to attract gay and lesbian tourists, but last year's annual budget was about $1.5 million, according to public records.
Several West Hollywood business owners applaud the visitors bureau's strategy, saying gay and lesbian travelers are helping to keep the city's tourism industry relatively healthy in the worst recession in decades.
"It's a terrific market," John Douponce, general manager of Le Parc Suites Hotel, a 154-room boutique hotel, said of gay and lesbian tourists. "They are very upscale travelers."
James Sinclair, operator of the O-Bar Restaurant & Lounge on bustling Santa Monica Boulevard, said that marketing to gay and lesbian tourists made sense.
"This gives us a competitive advantage against our neighbors in L.A.," Sinclair said.
Not only that, he said, but the campaign offers gay and lesbian tourists a destination where they can feel welcome.
"Why wouldn't they come to see what it is like to be in a city of equal opportunity?"
But the main goal of the city's campaign is to draw visitors who will spend.
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
