Gay and Lesbian Travel

Countries covered: United States

Defining the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) consumers could result in a windfall for the mainstream travel industry, which has been experiencing a period of slowed growth. Mintel’s consumer research confirms that the LGBT travelers are traveling often and spending more on travel. In 2003, LGBT travelers reported spending 25% more on leisure travel than heterosexual travelers. Ninety-six percent of respondents had taken at least one short leisure trip in the previous year (compared to just 56% of mainstream travelers) and 98% of respondents indicated that a destination’s gay-friendly reputation influenced their decision to visit.

In this report, Mintel clearly identifies the principal external factors driving or curtailing growth in the market for LGBT travel. Consumer research reveals the attitudes, needs and behavior of LGBT consumers, with analysis broken down both by demographic characteristics, and by travel type (for example, LGBT travelers prefer travel in the non-peak months of October, September and February, creating opportunity for a reliable off-season business).

Six years of specific sales data provide a factual and impartial presentation of the market as a whole. Mintel also evaluates the performance of individual sectors in the market and provides information about the major companies and brands. Using the SPSS forecasting package, Mintel creates a five-year forecast of U.S. retail sales in the market, revealing potential opportunities for growth and product development.

Definition of the Gay Traveler
The LGBT travel market can be divided into the following categories:

Single Male - 74%
Single Female - 21%
Gay Families - 6%

Consumers use several self-identification labels, which include gay, lesbian, bisexual, homosexual, queer, transgendered, and many others. The GL Census qualifies gay, lesbian, homosexual and queer respondents, while the Harris Interactive survey qualifies gay, lesbian and bisexual respondents. This is not to discount other labels. Indeed, the gay travel industry can benefit greatly from awareness of and gay friendliness toward all labels. As such, Mintel offers an in depth explanation of what labels mean in the gay community and defines more labels than are analyzed by either survey.

Data Sources
To help travel merchants capitalize on the resilience and wealth of the gay travel market, Mintel has analyzed consumer data from three sources, all of which have mutually supporting findings.

First, Mintel analyzed data from GL Census Partners, a partnership between OpusComm group and Syracuse University in New York. The Census is the world’s largest panel research into the consumer habits of the gay/lesbian market to be conducted by a university. The 2005 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census is based on the sample of 7,215 adults aged 18 and over.

Mintel also analyzed an online survey by Harris Interactive. The survey sample included 2,630 U.S. adults, of whom 177 were self-identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. The online survey was conducted between March 8 and 14, 2005

Finally, Mintel presents a profile of the gay lesbian consumer from CMI’s (Community Marketing Inc.) 2005 annual Gay and Lesbian Community Survey, which was based on the responses of 24,000 gay and lesbian consumers who belong to gay mailing lists, subscribe to gay publications and visit gay websites. CMI profile supports the findings of other data sources.

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