Many Gays/Lesbians Stayed Home for Vacations in 2009

In a down economy, "staycations" are just the ticket for LGBT people desiring a little escape, and are a bright spot in a gay travel industry hit by last year's recession, according to the recently released "14th Annual Gay and Lesbian Tourism Report."

The online study, conducted in October and November 2009, compiled responses from 4,726 self-identified gay and lesbian consumers of LGBT media and events. (The Bay Area Reporter was a participating newspaper.) A majority of respondents were gay men (75 percent) and white (87 percent) with lesbians (25 percent), bisexuals (3 percent), and transgenders (1 percent) rounding out the survey. Other ethnicities that responded to the survey included Latino (5 percent), African American (3 percent), Asian (2 percent), and other/mixed (3 percent). The report was released at the end of 2009.

Business and cruise travel were hit the hardest, in spite of more LGBT individuals hitting the high seas during the past year than their heterosexual counterparts (as had been the case in previous years), indicating that "LGBT travelers are a viable cruise market even in down economies," according to the report.

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