Travel & Vacations Articles

Out Now, a global gay marketing agency, stresses the importance of staff training to leading travel industry brands. The agency has created new a online training, accreditation and marketing system called GayComfort™.

Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now explains that gay travelers often experience travel differently than other consumers.

We'll be in Cape Cod July 26 thru August 2 celebrating new and old friendships with families like yours. Each summer, Provincetown is transformed into a huge playground for kids with GLBT parents. And Family Equality Council is once again hosting a large part of this massive event. COLAGE will again offer its workshops and activities too.

Do something special for your winter break, and take a family member to Mexico. This March, you can set sail from San Diego and travel through Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta - enjoying three full days in these exotic locations.

For the first time ever, R Family is offering a 2-for-1 special* on this cruise!

Obviously all families want to keep their children as safe as possible. According to Safe Kids Buckle Up®, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children ages 3 to 14.

A new online travel information and social networking portal - called Gaypedia - launched this week and hopes to become the largest database of destinations, venues and events specifically designed for gay and lesbian travelers.

ThePittsburghChannel.com is reporting that the city wants to show LGBT travelers they are welcome in the city.

So, Visit Pittsburgh is making its pitch, selling the city to us.

There's skepticism:

The gay travel and tourism industry has never been hotter. Worth billions annually, more hotels, tour operators, travel agents and destinations now actively target gay and lesbian travelers.

But many gay travelers worry that they may experience customer service levels that can be tainted by discomfort - or homophobia - when traveling.

Frustrated with a lack of resources available to lesbian travelers, Tanya Churchmuch created an online resource offering "lesbian-centric" interactive tools - to assist women in their travels.

Her new service is called Girlports. The site offers listings for destinations around the world - including bars, social groups, and restaurants.

Tanya says,

Southwest Airlines is "the airline of gay and lesbian San Francisco," for at least one year. The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and Southwest want to increase the number of gay and lesbian travelers visiting the city, so the $180,000 tourism campaign will focus on advertising and marketing - including ticket giveaways.

Ft. Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle has been aggressively insulting gay men this summer. His comments have been so reproachful that they've isolated him from constiuents and colleagues. Some believe he has become "a marginal character, a buffoon, an affiliate of the wacko fringe".