Gay Vacation Guide

Gay Vacation Guide is working to provide you with the greatest selection of vacations for LGBT travelers. From large-scale gay and lesbian cruises to unique tours. Gay Vacation Guide wants to brings you the best offerings available.

It’s easy to research and book your vacation online. Looking for a place to stay or information about a certain destination? Search our Lodgings and Destination Guides where you’ll find the finest gay-friendly places to stay. In our Vacations, Tours & Cruises section, select the vacation you’ve been looking for and make your reservation. Your next trip is just a few clicks away!

Gay Vacation Guide is working to become the world’s leading resource for gay and lesbian travelers, dedicated to helping you research, select and book the vacation you deserve. At Gay Vacation Guide, you’ll find information about all gay tours, all gay cruises and all gay vacation packages and trips. You’ll also find vacations offered to you by gay-friendly travel companies. What you won’t find are mainstream packages wrapped up in a Rainbow Ribbon.

In addition we have a database of gay owned and operated hotels, B & Bs and other gay-friendly places to stay. You can send an inquiry to those properties on line or telephone them. You’ll also have access to a list of Professional, Skilled Travel Agents that specialize in planning vacations for gay and lesbian travelers. Not sure what you want to do or where you want to go or what to expect? Just Ask Our Experts!

Gays have long embraced (and often constructed) the standards of luxury, which continue to thrust the travel industry into ever-larger economic intakes today. But for adventurous LGBT travelers seeking a more organic, authentic travel experience, the options are infinite. Traveling outside the comfort zone has become a luxury in and of itself and it is a gay travel trend that must be reckoned with.

Recent statistics show that gays are hitting the road more than ever. We travel like no other race or religion. And we are only now beginning to witness the results of the last decade’s surplus of queer-friendly Internet listings. Want to go on a gay horseback-riding expedition or a lesbian RV cross-country convoy? Chances are, one is underway near you. Never before have we had such niche-orientated gay travel adventures just a credit card number away.

Gay weddings may not be legal just yet, but commitment ceremonies occur regularly throughout the United States. According to statistics from Girlfriends magazine 31% of couples do intend to settle down into a committed relationship. Lesbians and gays who choose to formalize their relationship spend an average of $15,000 on a wedding. Gay and Lesbian honeymoon travel is an important part of any commitment ceremony.

The spending trend which began with the ceremony continues with the honeymoon. Travel statistics show the American gay and lesbian community represents $47.3 million, or about 10% of the travel industry. Eighty-nine percent hold a valid passport, and 54% budget $3,000 + on a vacation. Not only does the community travel, it travels well and purchases a variety of services while vacationing, to broaden their holiday experience.

Safety, progressive politics (such as gay marriage) and even immigration (policies that don’t discriminate against gay people) all play a factor in travel decisions. The latest research found that among gay travelers the top seven U.S. destinations are New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles-West Hollywood, Palm Springs, Ft. Lauderdale and Chicago. The top seven European cities are London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Florence and Venice ties with Berlin.

Gay and lesbian travel demographics:

Median household income of U.S. respondents is $79,000
35% of U.S. respondents live in households earning more than $100,000
71% of gay U.S. respondents hold a valid passport and 47% used it in the past year
The median respondent spent $6,300 on travel in the last year, about $1,250 per trip
66% are college graduates and 31% hold a Master’s or Doctorate Degree
73% were gay men, 21% are lesbian and 5% are bisexual
54% are in relationships with a median duration lasting eight years. 26% are in relationships that have some form of legal recognition (i.e. marriage, domestic partnership,
17% of lesbians and 4% of gay men between the ages of 30 and 60 have one or ore children under 18 living with them.

Gay Travel Statistics:

Gay and lesbian travelers took a median of five overnight trips in the last twelve months. 23% of the respondents took more than five leisure trip
Respondents who traveled in the last year spent an average of 29 nights away from home, on average six nights per trip
92% of gays and lesbians purchased an airline ticket on line last year
Respondents spent a median of 15 nights in a hotel during the last year
44% said that the having internet service was important to their choice of hotel. It was the #1 motivator
67% rented a car at least once in the last year
18% took a cruise within the last year
Hotels and the Gay Traveler

Community Marketing reports that 97% US respondents spent at least one night away from home in the last twelve months. The CMI survey revealed that gay travelers spend on average 29 nights away from home, a median of six nights per trip.

Leisure: 12 nights (median of 6 nights per trip)
Personal: nine nights (median of 4 nights per trip)
Business: eight nights (median of 8 nights per trip)
What factors influence a gay and lesbian traveler when they choose a hotel? 44% told Community Marketing that Internet access at their hotel was one of considerations in their hotel selection. Location is also important to gay and lesbian travelers with 36% indicating that they prefer accommodations near the gay neighborhood. Food, fitness and relaxation are also important attributes to many lesbians and gay men when they stay in a hotel. A pool (35%), restaurant (28%), gym (25%), and room service (26%) are considered somewhat important. A “gay-knowledgeable” concierge was important to 22%, gay-marketed packages to 20%, and “TAG Approved” to 20%.

Surprise, Gay Travelers Prefer Straight Cruises

Gay travel on straight cruises represents big business. Data within the 11th Annual Gay & Lesbian Travel Profile reveals a big surprise: gay and lesbian travelers prefer straight cruise vacations and they cruise more frequently than heterosexuals. Of the more than 4,500 qualified responses, 65% of lesbians and gay men who took a cruise vacation in the last year have traveled on a mainstream (non-gay) cruise. The survey also shows that 15% of gay travelers on straight cruises said they were part of an organized gay group. 21% of this survey’s US respondents took a mainstream cruise, 10% took a gay charter cruise and 4% traveled with a gay group aboard a mainstream cruise. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said that the itinerary influenced their decision to take a cruise (77%). Other factors in choosing a cruise vacation were:

Price (56%)
Overall reputation of the cruise company (50%)
Gay-friendly reputation of the cruise company (45%)
Safety record (15%)
There is huge sales opportunity for cruise lines and travel agents to sell cabins on straight cruises to gay travelers, However, there is a challenge implied in the data. It’s not just about advertising. In order to gain market share among the lucrative gay market, cruise lines must take active steps to ensure that their product is genuinely gay-friendly.

Online Buying Behavior

At least 81% purchased travel components on the Internet in the last twelve months. 81% purchased airline tickets online, 80% purchased accommodations online, 65% rented a car using the Internet and 76% of those who took a cruise in the last 12 months indicated that they purchased at least one cruise online.

Gay travelers are booking more on line than their straight counterparts. According to the Travel Industry of America research report, “Travelers’ Use of the Internet”, just 30% of the adult U.S. population used the Internet and made travel reservations/bookings online. Among the traveling adult U.S. population that number rose to 43%, but well short of the gay average.

Finally, advertising to the gay and lesbian market is profitable. 74% indicated that they are more likely to visit destinations where the government tourist office has a marketing campaign aimed at lesbians and gay men. Surprisingly, 37% “reward” destinations who advertise as gay-friendly by spending more money when they visit and 33% said they would stay longer.