My Traffic Magnet

For a number of years statistics have shown the gay tourism market is expanding. More money is being identified as being spent by gay travelers who often are older and have more disposable income to spend on luxuries such as travel. Many tourism operators have identified with this niche market and other specialist gay tours, cruises, destinations etc. For this market.

With the growth in the market has come a validation of gay travel in general. This has come in the form of more promotion by regional travel boards trying to attract gay travelers. This has also been mirrored by hotels, tour operators and airlines.

With the mainstreaming of gay tourism the focus has moved away from highlighting traditional gay tourist spots to encompassing the entire range of destinations. Gay perspectives on attractions are also emerging – there are now more targeted books and it is not uncommon to see a title such as Gay perspective on the Prado Museum.

There is some divide in the gay tourist market as to whether some travelers want gay targeted travel or not. Some find gay tourism offerings to be more expensive than those offered by the general tourism market. Others choose to take a ‘break’ from a solely gay world. If you spend all day in a gay world sometimes it is nice to see a different world when you are on holiday.

On the other hand many gay travelers enjoy the comfort level of being with like minded people and the chance to make new friends remain popular reasons why gay tourism is continuing to boom. And of course the obvious chance for romance can not be ignored, if that is what you are after.

The emergence of a recognized gay tourism market has meant more options are being publicized and developed. The general market has accepted gay travelers want to spend money and it would be silly to ignore them when providing services, tours and options.