Gay tourism: Encyclopedia II - Gay tourism - List of gay travel destinations

Gay tourism - List of gay travel destinations

The following destinations have proven to be popular over the course of time. They are listed below along with some noteworthy gay statistics that impact their desirability as gay travel destinations.

With expanding efforts to woo savvy gay travellers many areas are trying to catch the attention of this market and promote themselves as gay-friendly. Regions throughout the world from the KwaZulu-Natal to the Dominican Republic to Nepal are putting their pinkest faces forward in the hope of expanding their tourism sector.

• Africa
  • Cape Town, South Africa: Estimated that 70 000 gay and lesbian foreign tourists visited Cape Town in 2001.

• Asia-Pacific
  • Bangkok, Thailand: The capital of an nation known for tolerance towards gay people.
  • Cairns, Australia
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Phuket, Thailand: A small gay precinct in Patong Beach
  • Shanghai, China
  • Sydney, Australia: One of the "gay capitals" of the world, Sydney hosts the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on the first Saturday of March, each year, preceded by a month of festivities and gaiety. Sydney hosted the Gay Games in 2002.
  • Tokyo, Japan

• Canada
  • Montreal: Site of the 1st World Outgames July 29 to August 5, 2006. Home of one of the largest gay villages in the world.
  • Toronto: Site of gay village Church and Wellesley.
  • Vancouver: Site of gay village Davie Village, home of Davie Street Festival which runs in conjunction with Vancouver's annual Gay Pride Parade. Gay Games host 1990.

• Europe
  • Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Considered a gay "mecca". Gay Games host 1998.
  • Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain: Most prominent gay neighbourhood is "El Gaixample", nicknamed after the official government zone El Eixample
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Cologne, Germany: Site of the 2005 International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) annual convention.
  • Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Gran Canaria, Spain: The town of Playa del Inglés is especially popular with gays from northern Europe (England, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) and from Spain. Gaylife is centered around the Yumbo Centrum shopping center with many gay bars and night spots. Gay beach near the Dunes of Maspalomas.
  • Ibiza, Spain
  • London, England
  • Madrid, Spain: especially Chueca
  • Manchester, England: Hosts annual Gay Pride festival centred around the large gay village.
  • Munich, Germany
  • Mykonos, Greece
  • Paris, France: An important destination for gay and lesbian travellers. Site of gay village Le Marais.
  • Sitges, Catalunya, Spain.
  • Stockholm, Sweden: hosts the biggest gay pride parade of the Nordic countries every August.

• Mexico
  • Cancún: Holds annuals Cancún International Gay Festival in May.
  • Puerto Vallarta: Currently Mexico's most popular gay destination.

• South America
  • Buenos Aires , Argentina
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • São Paulo, Brazil: hosted, in 2005, the world's largest ever gay pride parade.

• United States
  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Austin, Texas
  • Boston, Massachusetts: Site of gay villages Jamaica Plain, and South End.
  • Chicago, Illinois: Site of gay village Boystown. Large gay pride parade in June, and Halsted Street Market Days, gay neighborhood festival, in August. Well-developed gay business infrastructure in Boystown and neighboring communities. Gay Games host summer 2006.
  • Columbus, Ohio: Home to the Chrome Party which is the new version of the Red Party which was the first Circuit Party ever held and started the Circuit Party scene. Columbus has several gay neighborhoods and a huge gay nightlife. The city has over 30 gay bars which is proportionally high.
  • Dallas, Texas
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Fire Island
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • Guerneville, California
  • Houston, Texas
  • Key West, Florida
  • Laguna Beach, California
  • Long Beach, California
  • Los Angeles, California: Site of predominantly-gay city of West Hollywood, a large urban gay community with an enormous annual gay pride parade, and gay community Silver Lake, along with many other gay-positive communities. Los Angeles is well-known for its openness, including within the entertainment industry.
  • Manhattan: Site of gay villages Christopher Street, the birthplace of the gay liberation movement, Greenwich Village and Chelsea. Enormous annual gay pride parade.
  • Miami Beach, Florida
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Palm Springs, California
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running the USA's largest gay tourism marketing campaign "Get your history straight and your nightlife gay".
  • Phoenix, Arizona
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Provincetown, Massachusetts
  • San Francisco, California: Site of The Castro. Hosts San Francisco Pride, an enormous gay pride parade in June, and such world-famous street festivals as the Folsom Street Fair, the Castro Street Fair, and the Halloween festivities in the Castro. Twice host to the Gay Games. Known as a major international gay "mecca".
  • Saugatuck, Michigan
  • Seattle, Washington: Site of gay village Capitol Hill.
  • Tucson, Arizona
  • Washington D.C.: Site of gay village Dupont Circle.
  • West Hollywood, California

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "List of gay travel destinations", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki