The Best Cyprus Community

Skip to content


Tourism sector chases the ‘pink euro’

Feel free to talk about anything that you want.

Tourism sector chases the ‘pink euro’

Postby AndreasP » Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:06 pm

AS THE economic crisis deepens and hotels stretch the tourist net ever wider to scoop up precious revenue, gay tourism is a very lucrative sector that looks increasingly attractive.

“In these difficult times, hoteliers need to look at every market. There is talk of agrotourism or sports tourism – well, gay tourism is another market segment, and every market is worth looking at,” one hotelier, who preferred not to be named, told the Sunday Mail.

Gay tourists are known to be big spenders with some recent studies indicating that gay tourists spend 100-150 per cent more on holidays than non-gay tourists. The tourism sector in Greece is already reaping the benefit of addressing this market segment, to the tune of €1.5 billion per year.

According to Community Marketing Inc. (CMI), a San Francisco-based company specialising in gay tourism, a reputation for gay-friendliness is one of the top three criteria for gays and lesbians when choosing vacation destinations. Travel analysts say that a destination will win the reputation of being gay-friendly if the general population’s attitude is positive.

The hotelier said that Cyprus is not unfriendly to gays and lesbians, though he admitted “society here is not necessarily as open as in some countries”. There are bars and clubs that are gay-friendly rather than exclusively gay, but “some destinations, like Mykonos, have a much stronger profile as being gay-friendly”, he added.

“The Cyprus Tourism Organisation should be looking at this. Whether they will market Cyprus as being gay-friendly is up to them. It is not easy to introduce a new market segment to a society that is fairly conservative when it comes to new things.”

Other travel trends in gay tourism identified by CMI include: price, which is the top motivator for selecting a hotel, a positive internet review of the hotel property, and location near attractions. According to survey data, there is no great difference between what gay tourists and non-gay tourists enjoy doing while on vacation: top of the list are going to a popular restaurant, visiting popular mainstream tourist attractions, visiting museums and shopping.

Gay tourism is one of the more lucrative market segments worldwide and is growing faster than longer-established segments. A study published last year by CMI said that 30 per cent of gay travellers in the US planned a visit to Europe in 2008.

The official website of the French government’s Tourist Office, www.franceguide.com, already includes a page on gay tourism, with a number of links to regional tourism office websites and others sites.

It is not just tourism promotion bodies that are dedicating resources to this market. Large companies like the Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Travelocity, the second-largest online travel agency, regularly attend the annual International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism, which in the past has been sponsored by Quantas and American Airlines, among others.

The internet is certainly the primary marketing tool for the gay tourism market. There is already a large number of specialised internet portals and sites available to the gay tourist. One of these is www.gaylifetravel.com, which aims to recommend “only the very best gay-friendly hotels”.

This particular site already lists seven four-star and five-star hotels in Limassol, Paphos and Larnaca, including the Londa Hotel in Limassol. General Manager Jochen Niemann told the Sunday Mail that his typical leisure guest is a younger than average high-spender from the UK, Central Europe and Russia who prefers the “lifestyle” or boutique-type hotel.

He said: “There was an initiative a year or so ago by a UK operator to issue a brochure for the gay tourism market. We did not hesitate to participate, without marketing ourselves explicitly as being gay-friendly.”

Like most hotels in Cyprus, the Londa has seen a drop in bookings from the UK. Niemann said that the government’s stimulus package, and specifically the reduction in VAT and municipal taxes, had helped towards offering lower prices to the UK market. However, due to its short lead-time for bookings, the hotel has also benefited from potential tourists’ “wait-and see” response to the economic crisis. “Actually, we have had the best January and February ever,” he said.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009


http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=44753
AndreasP
New Member
New Member
 
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:14 pm

Postby RichardB » Sun Mar 22, 2009 8:20 pm

Interesting post Andreas

My main residence is Blackpool in the Uk ( A British tourist resort for the uninitiated)

In Blackpool we have a large Gay community and the resort now actively promotes itself as Gay friendly

A massive amount is there to be earned from the 'pink pound'

The main plusses IMO in attracting the Gay community is

a. Plenty of spending power (usually no major family commitments - Children etc)

b. Very little trouble arises in the Gay bars

Minuses

a.I'm not sure if the Cypriot Tourism industry ( Bars etc) would feel comfortable actively promoting the Gay scene

I speak with Knowledge as a recent Hotel owner in Blackpool (where I would happily accept the pink pound) and also as a regular visitor to Cyprus ( with Cypriot family connections)

I must admit i've pondered over this in the past
User avatar
RichardB
Main Contributor
Main Contributor
 
Posts: 3644
Joined: Thu May 18, 2006 9:48 pm
Location: Blackpool/Lefkosia

Postby paul1978 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:06 pm

aye you cant beat funny girls in Blackpool for a good night out
User avatar
paul1978
Contributor
Contributor
 
Posts: 227
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:03 pm
Location: paralimni

Postby Z4 » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:22 pm

Backs against the wall lads!
User avatar
Z4
Main Contributor
Main Contributor
 
Posts: 4770
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 9:53 pm
Location: Pissouri........of course!

Postby Oracle » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:26 pm

I think the "pink pound" is even more affected by the credit crunch than the "boring pound" ....
User avatar
Oracle
Leading Contributor
Leading Contributor
 
Posts: 23507
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:13 am
Location: Anywhere but...

Postby CBBB » Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:26 am

Z4 wrote:Backs against the wall lads!


I am with you, I don't want a pink pounding!
User avatar
CBBB
Leading Contributor
Leading Contributor
 
Posts: 11521
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 1:15 pm
Location: Centre of the Universe

Postby RichardB » Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:57 am

Oracle wrote:I think the "pink pound" is even more affected by the credit crunch than the "boring pound" ....


Well O

No matter what the colour of the pound it is certainly taking a battering.

My answer was in relation to the tourist industry.

The Gay 'quarter' in Blackpool is certainly thriving as opposed to other areas of the town which unfortunately is dying on its feet

As I mentioned the Gay community has usually far less commitments than the average Joe Bloggs and leisure is high on their priorities in life

If a resort area in Cyprus was to actively promote itself as Gay friendly then I'm sure the clientelle is waiting
User avatar
RichardB
Main Contributor
Main Contributor
 
Posts: 3644
Joined: Thu May 18, 2006 9:48 pm
Location: Blackpool/Lefkosia

Postby Oracle » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:53 pm

RichardB wrote:
Oracle wrote:I think the "pink pound" is even more affected by the credit crunch than the "boring pound" ....


Well O

No matter what the colour of the pound it is certainly taking a battering.

My answer was in relation to the tourist industry.

The Gay 'quarter' in Blackpool is certainly thriving as opposed to other areas of the town which unfortunately is dying on its feet

As I mentioned the Gay community has usually far less commitments than the average Joe Bloggs and leisure is high on their priorities in life

If a resort area in Cyprus was to actively promote itself as Gay friendly then I'm sure the clientelle is waiting


I bow to your superior knowledge on pink matters :D

Image
User avatar
Oracle
Leading Contributor
Leading Contributor
 
Posts: 23507
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:13 am
Location: Anywhere but...


Return to General Chat

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest