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PINK TOURISM Holidays of Gay Men and Lesbians To Andy and Claire with love PINK TOURISM Holidays of Gay Men and Lesbians Howard L. Hughes CABI is a trading name of CAB International CABI Head Office CABI North American Office Nosworthy Way 875 Massachusetts Avenue Wallingford 7th Floor Oxfordshire OX10 8DE Cambridge, MA 02139 UK USA Tel: +44 (0)1491 832111 Tel: +1 617 395 4056 Fax: +44 (0)1491 833508 Fax: +1 617 354 6875 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cabi.org ©Howard L. Hughes 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hughes, Howard L. Pink tourism: holidays of gay men and lesbians/Howard L. Hughes. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-84593-076-2 (alk. paper) 1. Gay consumers. 2. Lesbian consumers. 3. Tourism–Marketing. 4. Gays–Attitudes. 5. Lesbians–Attitudes. 6. Sexual orientation. I. Title: Holidays of gay men and lesbians. II. Title. HF5415.32.H84 2006 910.68′8--dc22 2005035845 ISBN-10: 1-84593-076-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-84593-076-9 Typeset by AMA DataSet Ltd, UK Printed and bound in the UK by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn Contents Acknowledgements vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Homosexuality – its Nature and Characteristics 15 Chapter 3: Gay and Lesbian Tourists – Profiles and Reasons 45 Chapter 4: Destination Choice as Risk Avoidance 71 Chapter 5: Gay and Lesbian Tourism Destinations 89 Chapter 6: Intermediaries, Accommodation and Attractions 117 Chapter 7: Marketing, Segments, Surveys and Identity 152 Chapter 8: Holidays, Marketing and Implications for Homosexuality 182 Chapter 9: Conclusions and Implications 198 References 204 Index 229 v Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This book, in many ways, marks another stage of a long, personal journey. Those who know me well will be aware of the nature of that journey. I gladly acknowledge the help, support and understanding shown by those who were with me on that journey; they will know who they are. In addition, certain people have been particularly helpful with respect to the genesis and completion of this book: Philippa Hunter-Jones, a close friend as well as colleague, gave encouragement at the start when I did not really believe that such a book could be written, let alone by me. Much of the credit for the fact that it has been written at all must go to her. Philippa continued to ‘have faith’ throughout. Her warmth and sincerity are a delight to experience. Danielle Allen, another friend and colleague, also inspired but, in addition, helped with some irritating but none the less essential tasks that ensured that the book was eventually completed. Her efficiency and enthusiasm are boundless, as indeed, are her geniality and compassion. Rebecca Stubbs was Development Editor at CABI at just the ‘right’ time. Her enormous enthusiasm for the idea was encouraging and she progressed it through to contract with commendable swiftness. Andrew Stokes, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, has always encouraged my projects. His knowledge and expertise in this field are unsurpassable and he has always found the time in his busy schedule to listen to my ideas. He and his organization have, at all times, been generous with their assistance. Nigel Morgan and Annette Pritchard of the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, have been an inspiration. Their work in this and related areas has been ground-breaking. These delightful people continue to vi Acknowledgements vii push forward the frontiers of tourism studies in a most remarkable manner. Kevin has been part of the tourism experience for some time now but has, of course, had a much more significant role in my life than as a travel- ling companion. He has endured, with a good grace, trips which were not always of his own choosing. Kevin's endurance of a shared life is, to me, astonishing but joyfully appreciated none the less. My appreciation, too, to several cohorts of undergraduate students at Manchester Metropolitan University who have tolerated (and, in a pleas- ing number of cases, shared) my enthusiasm for a study of gay and lesbian tourism. Not one has demurred at examining issues with which some may have felt uncomfortable. Credit to them all for being open- minded and for approaching issues in a mature way. Ian Johnson, Principal Consultant of Out Now Consulting has been more than generous with his offers of assistance. He provided the results of a reader survey carried out in Gay Times and Diva in the period May to October 2005, for which I am very grateful. Unfortunately they were avail- able too late to be incorporated into this book (www.OutNowConsulting. com). Dominic O'Grady, Group Managing Editor of Gay Travel Guides, New South Wales, Australia, was also generous in his willingness to let me have access to the results of an international gay travel survey carried out on his behalf (www.gaytravelguides.info). The library staff at Hollings campus of Manchester Metropolitan University are heroes of their profession. Led by Ian Harter, they have diligently, enthusiastically and cheerfully met every request for assistance. The following graciously shared their views in short interviews (during 2004/05) about gay and lesbian tourism: Rob Harkavy, Respect Holidays; Malcolm Hardy, ManTrav Holidays; Andrew Roberts, AMRO Holidays; Michael Gibberd, Exclusively Gay Cruising; and Tony Bloomfield and Lorna Jasper, Village Travel (Manchester). My thanks to them for giving their time so readily and also for keeping my feet on the ground. Grateful thanks is also given to those who gave permission to repro- duce advertisements and other promotional material: Manfred J. Kaufmann, Manager Public Advertising, Vienna Tourist Board (Fig. 2.1); Andrew Roberts, General Manager, AMRO Holidays (Figs 3.1, 5.4 and 6.13); Andy Newman, Press Officer, Florida Keys and Key West Tourism Council (Figs 5.1, 7.3 and 7.4); Andrew Stokes, Managing Director, Marketing Manchester (Fig. 5.2); Ian Johnson, Principal Consultant of Out Now Con- sulting (Fig. 5.3); Michael Gibberd and Peter Russell, The Exclusively Gay Cruising Company (Fig. 6.1); Tony Bloomfield, Director and Lorna Jasper, General manager, Village Travel (Fig. 6.2); Neil Basnett, Away Gay Holi- days (Figs 6.3 and 6.4); Rob Harkavy, Director, Respect Holidays (Fig. 6.5); Vicki, Proprietor, Bondi Hotel (Fig. 6.6); Heather and Helen, Proprietors, viii Acknowledgements Gabrielle's Hotel (Fig. 6.7); Stephen Joyce, General Manager, Trades Hotel and Rainbows Hotel (Fig. 6.8); Ronald Walgreen, Hotel New Amsterdam (Fig. 6.9); Lynn Mogell, Executive Director, Women Innkeepers of Provincetown (Fig. 6.10); Michael Williams, Executive Director, World's Foremost Gay and Lesbian Hotels (Fig. 6.11); Shaun, Brighton Wave Hotel, and members of the Gaydealsbrighton. co.uk (Fig. 6.12); Tobin, Proprietor, Village Lodge (Fig. 7.1); and Dale W. Dawursk, Desert Paradise Resort Hotel (Fig. 7.2). ChapterIntroduction 1 Introduction 1 The aim of this book is to examine the holidays of gays and lesbians from, primarily, a marketing perspective. It also examines how marketing activity engages with and affects social issues relating to homosexuality. The primary target audience for this book is postgraduate and second- and third-year undergraduate students on tourism, hospitality, leisure and recreation management courses. Some prior knowledge of marketing and of first-level tourism studies is assumed. None the less students on courses such as cultural studies, human geography and sociology should find it of interest and use. It may be that some of the content and approach is regarded as alien to their own discipline’s perspective on homosexuality. They will find, hopefully, that it provides some constructive and thought- provoking illumination of issues of sexual orientation and contributes to further understanding of these issues. Concepts and Terms The statement of aim conceals several complications, not the least of which is what is meant by ‘gays and lesbians’. This is an issue that will be explored in the next chapter, but, for the moment, ‘gays and lesbians’ can be regarded, in a commonly used sense, as referring to male and female homosexuals (though this term is also opaque), i.e. people who are sexu- ally attracted to people of the same biological sex. The term ‘holiday’ is not so difficult to pin down, though ‘tourism’ is often used to mean holi- days and can, on occasion, give rise to confusion. The technical use of © Howard L. Hughes 2006. Pink Tourism: Holidays of Gay Men and Lesbians (Howard L. Hughes) 1 2 Chapter 1 ‘tourism’ is wider than holiday and includes (inter alia) business and con- ference trips and visits to friends and relatives, but it is also restrictive (at least in the UK) in that it includes only trips that are of minimum 24-hour duration or that involve an overnight stay (World Tourism Organization, 1981; English Tourism Council et al., 2002); it therefore excludes daytrips. In this book, the terms holiday and tourism will be used interchangeably and tourism will usually refer to holidays, unless otherwise indicated. The term ‘gay and lesbian tourism’ will also be used, though it was dis- carded by Cox (2001) in favour of ‘gay holidaymaking’, as the former term was felt to imply a particular type of tourism involving holiday interac- tion with other gays or lesbians. This book deals with the widest holiday experiences of gays and lesbians and not just with any one particular type of holidaymaking that may be the focus of some gays and lesbians.

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