Las Vegas — Orlando’s chief tourism rival — has soared past San Francisco and Los Angeles as a premier destination in the $55 billion-a-year gay and lesbian travel industry, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Orlando did not rank among the top business or leisure destinations for gay and lesbian travelers; only 10 percent of those responding to the survey said they had visited the city in the past 12 months.
The top destination, New York City, attracted 18 percent of those surveyed, while 17 percent reported visiting Las Vegas, the No. 2 destination.
The study by Community Marketing Inc., a San Francisco company that focuses on gay marketing, collected responses in August from more than 7,613 gays and lesbians.
Advertising directed at gays and lesbians emerged as a common thread among the top destinations identified in the survey.
“Gay and lesbian imagery makes a far greater impact than general outreach,” said Thomas Roth, president of Community Marketing. The survey indicated that more than 70 percent of those surveyed were more likely to visit a destination when its tourism marketing catered specifically to them.
Las Vegas’ tourism promoters launched a marketing effort about two years ago that has been largely successful in boosting its rank as a leisure destination for gays and lesbians, he said.
The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau has stayed away from targeting niche markets, even as the state’s tourism promoter, Visit Florida, works with the Travel Industry Association of America to research gay-travel trends.
Bureau spokeswoman Danielle Courtenay said the local group’s research has indicated that Orlando should focus on its core market, families.
“There are lots of great markets out there, but we have to go with what the research says, and there’s a huge potential of families that haven’t been to Orlando,” Courtenay said.
Only about 7 percent of those in the Community Marketing survey said they had children living at home with them.
Orlando’s Gay Days, an annual series of gay-pride events centered on Walt Disney World, draws large crowds each year, though not enough to boost the city past other Florida destinations such as Fort Lauderdale, which in recent years has worked to raise its profile as a gay-friendly city.
Still, some local gay-friendly businesses say they have noted more activity in recent years.
“What we’ve noticed, as far as events, are more commitment ceremonies among gay couples,” said Carma Williams, property manager for The Veranda, a bed-and-breakfast in Orlando’s Thornton Park section.
The national survey found that a destination’s political climate often contributes to its success in attracting visitors, especially among international tourists.
About 8 percent of the survey respondents said they live in Canada or Europe, and more than a quarter of that group identified the U.S. war in Iraq and the movement in Congress to ban gay marriage as deterrents to visiting this country.
On the other hand, thriving gay communities in urban or resort areas and gay and lesbian leadership in government were cited as factors that encouraged visits to the U.S. among international travelers.The study also identified trends among different demographic groups within the gay and lesbian markets.
For example, the study revealed that lesbians in the 31-60 age group preferred visiting Provincetown, Mass., more than did gay men across all age groups. Gay men older than 60 listed Palm Springs, Calif., and Fort Lauderdale as top destinations, while those younger than 30 listed Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Orlando, while not rating highly, stood out as a destination that was included in rankings by both men and women across all age groups.
“Typically we see destinations appeal more to certain demographics,” said Jerry McHugh, manager of research at Community Marketing. “For Orlando, no matter who they are, everybody liked Orlando about the same.”
