NYC, London are tops for travelers; Austin hosts R Family event
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| IF YOU CAN MAKE IT THERE: New York City is the top stop for gay travelers. |
Where do gay travelers most like to spend their time? You might expect the sun-and-fun areas of the coastal regions, but the appeal of the bright lights of the big city turn out to be the biggest draw.
Community Marketing Inc., which has conducted the travel survey for more than 10 years, says New York City is the most-visited U.S. destination for non-resident LGBT travelers, with 16 percent of those polled having stayed overnight in the Big Apple at least once in the last 12 months.
Sun-and-fun locales weren’t far behind, with California and Florida both claiming multiple destinations: San Francisco (No. 3), Los Angeles/West Hollywood (No. 4), Palm Springs (No. 6) and San Diego (No. 8) to the west, and to the east Fort Lauderdale (No. 5), and Miami/South Beach and Orlando (tying for tenth place). Rounding out the top 10 were Las Vegas in second place, and Chicago (No. 7) and Washington, D.C. (No. 9).
Internationally, London was the top stop, followed by Puerto Vallarta, Paris and three Canadian ports: Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.
Texas Yee-Haw
R Family Vacations founder Gregg Kaminsky and Signature Journeys both gay-specific travel companies with a focus on alternative family travel will be in Austin for Fall Family Festival. The festival, held on Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at Emerson Academy in Round Rock, will introduce parents to upcoming R Family cruises.
Because the vacations are about families, the festival will be, too, with a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, snacks, a moonwalk and tons of fun for kids.
Kiwi Chi-Chi
While some airlines have been kicking off passengers for their appearance, the Down Under carrier Air New Zealand wants to pink-out a flight.
The airline wants to lure queer travelers to Australia with a one-time “pink flight,” which departs San Francisco on Feb. 26 specifically to coincide the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney.
The flight will be modeled after an Aukland-to-Sydney flight the carrier did earlier this year, and will include gay-friendly in-flight entertainment and a crew clad in pink boas singing ABBA songs.
Girls Only
Gay female travelers have unique needs, so Tanya Churchmuch launched Girlports.com, the first free travel information Web site exclusively for lesbians and bisexual women, in October. The site currently offers 19 destinations, with new locales to be added in the future.
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THEATER REVIEWS
This was a busy week for theater in North Texas, much of it with queer content or appeal and all by gay playwrights: “The Little Dog Laughed” at WaterTower Theatre (pictured), “Little Shop of Horrors” at Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre, “The Play About the Baby” at the Bath House Cultural Center and “Pygmalion” at Theatre Three. Arnold Wayne Jones has reviews of all of them are online on the Stage page at Dallasvoice.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition November 2, 2007
