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Travel Industry in the Gay Market
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As the GLBT market has grown and
developed over the past 30 years, it’s been the travel industry
which has embraced and been at the forefront in marketing to the
gay & lesbian community.
The world of Gay & Lesbian Travel is the most diverse and
mature. There are companies dedicated exclusively to gay travel
marketing and business associations solely for the world of gay
travel.
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On the Business-to-Business (B2B) front, the first and foremost
of these is the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA),
one of the largest and oldest gay business associations
worldwide. Founded in 1983, membership today is at 900-plus and
growing, with members representing all facets of travel today
including airlines wishing to reach the gay market, travel
agents primarily serving the gay market, hotels and resorts
designed exclusively for the gay traveler, etc. The list goes
on! With conventions and symposiums held each year all
throughout the world, the IGLTA is one of the finest
representations of a truly global trade association that mirrors
the growth of the gay community worldwide, with members and
events held in Europe, North America, South America, Africa and
Australia. With the rise of gay & lesbian representation in
Asia, it is expected that more and more members and events will
grow from this region.
LINK: www.IGLTA.org
On the marketing side, Community Marketing Inc. (CMI) has
emerged as the leader, helping their tourism industry clients
better reach and serve the gay market since 1992. Community
Marketing's tourism practice supports their clients with market
research, strategies, and cost-effective marketing planning.
Clients include leading airlines, rental car and cruise
companies, hotel groups, tour operators, CVBs and tourism
offices worldwide.
With over a decade of market research under their belt,
Community Marketing has become the industry's leading source of
gay tourism data. CMI's research has helped quantify why the
"gay travel market" should be included in every diversity
marketing initiative. In addition, Community Marketing produces
the annual International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism, as
well as the Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo series, reaching gay
consumers, travel trade and media in major markets across the US
and Canada.
LINK: www.CommunityMarketingInc.com
The size of the GLBT travel market, in terms of buying power, is
what attracts advertisers the most. Based on the Travel
Institute of America’s estimation of the US travel market at
$1.3 trillion, the GLBT portion, at a low 5% population
estimate, comes to $65 billion. Based upon Community Marketing’s
annual “Gay & Lesbian Community Survey” of over 24,000
respondents, some gay & lesbian travel trends which stand out
are:
98% of respondents indicated that a destination’s gay-friendly
reputation influenced their decision to visit there.
59% said gay welcoming hotels were very important.
Gay and lesbian travelers took an average of six overnight trips
in the last 12 months, including an average of three short
(three or fewer nights) and two long (four or more nights) trips
for leisure, and one trip for business.
96% of respondents took at least one short leisure trip in the
last year, compared to 56% of mainstream travelers.
33% took five or more short trips.
87% took at least one long leisure trip; 16% took five or more
long trips.
55% of respondents took three or more overnight trips in the
last 12 months where they traveled to the destination by air.
33% took five or more.
October, September, and February (in that order) were the top
vacation months chosen by survey participants, demonstrating the
non-peak seasonal preferences of gays and lesbians.
15 is the median number of hotel nights. Five was the median for
car rentals in the last year.
51% of respondents had taken a cruise vacation. 31% had cruised
in the last two years.
28% extended a business trip for leisure; 25% traveled for a
pride festival; 22% took a casino vacation.
Top US destinations: 30% visited New York; Las Vegas 25%; San
Francisco 24%; Los Angeles/West Hollywood 24%.
36% had visited Canada in the last year. 33% had visited Latin
America or the Caribbean.
The most visited other North American destinations: Toronto 9%,
Puerto Rico 9%, Puerto Vallarta 9%, Montréal 8%, Vancouver 8% US
Virgin Islands 7% and Cancun 7%.
29% visited Europe in the last 12 months.
Top European destinations: United Kingdom 12%, France 9%, Italy
8%, Germany 7%, Netherlands 7% and Spain 6%.
Demographics...
Median household income of US respondents is $87,500; 2000 US
Census indicates a $41,994 household income.
Median age of US respondents is 44 years. Median age of
Americans (from the 2000 US Census) is 35.
84% of US respondents hold a valid passport, as of CMI’s 2003
report (national average is 23%).
73% belong to a frequent flyer program, up from 67% in 2003.
National average is about 27%.
53% spent $5,000 or more per person on vacations in the past
year.
72% are college/university graduates (national average is 29%);
34% continued on to achieve post-graduate degrees.
24% of the population had obtained a bachelors or higher degree,
according to 2000 US Census.
76% of those who took the 2005 survey are gay men, 20% are
lesbian.
62% are in a committed relationship; 6% have children at home;
lesbians are almost three times as likely as gay men to have
children at home. 33% of all US households have children under
18, according to the 2000 US Census. |
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According to the recent Simmons Gay
& Lesbian Consumer Study report, gay & lesbian travelers are:
- Less likely to prefer travel in the US versus traveling to foreign
countries.
- More likely to only want to relax when on vacation.
- More likely to go somewhere different for vacation every time
More likely to love the idea of traveling abroad. |
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From the Simmons Study regarding
foreign travel, One-third (33%) of GLBT adults and 38% of adults
in the gay and lesbian group have a valid passport. More than
two of five (45%) GLBT adults have traveled abroad in the last
three years. Of those, 31% traveled abroad two or more times.
Nearly one-half (47%) traveled for vacation or personal reasons.
Among foreign travelers in the gay and lesbian group, seven of
ten (71%) stayed in a paid accommodation compared with 55% of
foreign travelers in the total population. One-third (33%) of
GLBT adults and 43% of adults in the gay and lesbian group spent
$1500 or more on the average foreign trip taken in the last
three years. Nearly one of five (18%) GLBT adults and those in
the gay and lesbian group spent $3000 or more on the average
foreign trip taken in the last three years.
Of adults who traveled abroad in the last three years, there are
a number of differences between males and females in the gay and
lesbian group and their nongay counterparts. While they were
similarly likely (42%) to have traveled abroad in the last three
years, gay males were less likely to travel to Mexico or the
Caribbean, and more likely than their non-gay male counterparts
to travel to Europe and other countries such as the Middle East,
India, China, Japan, Australia/New Zealand, Africa, and Canada
(Table 1). While females in the gay and lesbian group were much
less likely than their non-gay counterparts to have traveled to
Europe, they were just as likely to have traveled to Mexico or
the Caribbean. Both males and females in the gay and lesbian
group were more likely than their non-gay counterparts to have
stayed in paid accommodations.
When it comes to US Domestic Travel, nearly seven of ten (69%)
GLBT adults traveled within the U.S. in the last 12 months. Of
those, two in five (43%) traveled three or more times. Only a
small proportion (12%) of these travels were for business. The
vast majority (64%) traveled for vacation or personal reasons.
One-half (49%) of GLBT travelers stayed in an all inclusive
resort or a hotel, motel or similar paid accommodations during
their domestic travel compared with 64% among domestic travelers
in the total population. Two of five (42%) GLBT adults and 50%
of adults in the gay and lesbian group spent $500 or more on the
average domestic trip in the last 12 months. One of five (22%)
gay and lesbian adults who traveled in the last 12 months spent
over $1000 compared to 15% of travelers in the total population.
While gay males were less likely than non-gay males to have
engaged in domestic travel in the last 12 months, they were more
likely to use their travel for vacation or personal reasons. Gay
males were much less likely than non-gay men to stay in a paid
accommodation while away and more likely to stay with friends or
relatives. Males and females in the gay and lesbian group were
more likely than their non-gay counterparts to spend $1000 or
more on the average trip.
The vast majority of adults in the GLBT group (72%) as well as
those in the total population (76%) traveled by car. Adults in
the gay and lesbian group were somewhat more likely (55%) than
adults in the GLBT group (40%) and those in the total population
(40%) to use a plane for their domestic travel
Overall, only a small proportion of domestic or foreign
travelers used the services of a travel agent in the last 12
months: 18% of total adult travelers, 16% of GLBT, and 13% of
travelers in the gay/lesbian group. A notable proportion of GLBT
travelers (35%) and those in the gay and lesbian group (46%)
visited online travel websites, such as Expedia, Orbitz,
Travelocity, or Travelzoo, or used their time online to obtain
information or make travel reservations. Among travelers in the
total population three of ten (30%) used online services for
their travel information or reservations.
Some of the corporate travel-related companies which stand out
in marketing to the GLBT consumer include American Airlines and
Air Canada in the airline industry; W Hotels, Hyatt Resorts and
Kimpton Hotels in the hotel industry; Avis in the car rental
industry; and Philadelphia, Dallas, Montreal, London,
Manchester, Palm Springs and Key West in the destination/CVB
side of the industry.
Smaller companies serving the GLBT travel community abound,
including gay travel agencies, gay tour operators, gay hotels
and resorts and so much more.
On the consumer front online, there are several key sites
dedicated exclusively to gay & lesbian travel. These sites range
from QTMagazine.com, OutandAbout.com, MyGayWorld.com,
GayTravel.com and others. These sites differ from the more
general GLBT sites, in that gays & lesbians online are coming to
these sites specifically with the thought of travel in mind.
For hotels, there are a variety of sites dedicated just for this
market, including LambdaResorts.com, PurpleRoofs.com, Damron.com
and GayHotelsGuide.com. From these sites, gay travelers can
research gay and gay-friendly hotels, resorts, inns and B&Bs,
searching in the region of the world they wish to travel. Each
site features advertised listings, allowing hotel owners to
promote their respective properties above and beyond the rest.
Also online, but in the B-to-B world of gay travel, there are a
variety of companies working with gay tour operators in
marketing and selling their packages online. One of the first in
this market was GayLinkTravel.com. This site offers travel
product for sale on the Internet, with packages ranging from an
Atlantis cruise to special Gay Games travel being offered.
Participating web sites can then pick and choose the travel
product they wish to merchandise to their own unique membership,
and the travel product is then displayed directly from within
their own individual sites. The web site owners are focused on
their own content and membership, and by enabling travel package
sales from their site, receive additional revenue and travel
content.
GayRes.com also plays a part in this space, focusing on
hotel reservations for gay and gay-friendly hotels and resorts
worldwide. For the travel service provider, this simply means
you have an additional channel from which to offer your travel
product for sale, at no additional cost to you. This gets your
product in front of a potential consumer without you having to
spend on advertising, and allows your product to reach gays and
lesbians that may never have seen your product otherwise!
In the world of gay print, there are several national print
magazines dedicated to gay travel, including the The Guide, Out
Traveler, Passport Magazine and My Gay World Magazine. Each
magazine has its own style and audience within the gay travel
community, allowing marketers to work with one or several of
these magazines to reach the travel demographic that is right
for them.
It wouldn't be right to conclude the subject of gay travel
without mentioning Columbia Fun Maps. With detailed maps
covering all of the major gay & lesbian destinations across the
US and Canada, the Fun Map has emerged as a very successful and
integral part of the gay & lesbian traveler's "must have" items
when they arrive in their new destination.
LINK: www.FunMaps.com
© HIMCorp.com, All Rights Reserved
Article provided by GayLinkContent.com. For more information,
contact us at info@gaylinkcontent.com. |
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