www.CommunityMarketingInc.com 11 th Annual LGBT Travel Survey Exploring opportunities in the gay & lesbian market. Thomas E. Roth, MBA, CTIE President 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey September 2006 N = 6,721 USA Respondents Profile For further information or custom research, contact: Thomas Roth Community Marketing, Inc. 584 Castro Street #834 San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 437-3800 [email protected] Introduction About Community Marketing, Inc.: Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI) has been conducting gay and lesbian market research since 1994. In the last twelve months alone, CMI has analyzed over 27,000 gay and lesbian survey responses through our research initiatives. Our custom market research clients include the visitors bureaus of Dallas, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Provincetown and Philadelphia among others; government tourism offices such as Canadian Tourism Commission and Switzerland Tourism; vacation operators such as RSVP Vacations, and a variety of clients in other industries. Additionally, CMI conducts focus groups in North America and Europe, exit surveys, field surveys, customer service surveys, and advisory boards. Annual LGBT Community Survey: This year’s 75 page “11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey” brought a record-breaking 7,613 completed responses from around the world, and includes 6,721 responses received from self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents of the United States. The goal for this study was to survey gay and lesbian consumers regarding their travel habits and motivators, and to provide data and analysis that will assist tourism destinations and suppliers to better serve the gay and lesbian community. Combined with trend analysis from the past eleven years, and numerous comparisons to mainstream consumers, the 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey report is the most comprehensive presentation of the preferences of LGBT travelers ever published. Community Marketing’s international survey is the most comprehensive and most quoted gay market research in the tourism industry. Tourism industry leaders around the world use CMI’s research and analysis as a basis for feasibility evaluations, positioning, economic impact, and informed forecasting and marketing planning. Key findings have Community Marketing, Inc. • 584 Castro St. #834 • San Francisco CA 94114 USA • 415/437-3800 www.CommunityMarketingInc.com Page 1 of 76 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey Profile September 2006 been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Diversity, Inc. and most other national and regional media covering the LGBT tourism industry. The focus of CMI’s 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey report is to deeply explore LGBT travel preferences, attitudes, spending patterns and behaviors regarding destination and recreational choices, including: domestic and international destinations, hotel and lodging preferences, flights, car rentals and cruises; trends and patterns in leisure, personal and business travel. In addition, comparisons to findings for mainstream (heterosexual) adults are included throughout. The study identifies the unique preferences and motivations not only by gender (i.e. gay or lesbian), but also by age cohorts. The report is rich with market data, insights, historical and trend perspectives. Methodology During August 2006, Community Marketing, Inc. conducted an online survey of openly-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults. The goal for this study was to survey LGBT consumers regarding their travel habits and motivators, and to provide data and insight to the gay and lesbian tourism industry. With a sample size of 6,721, the margin of error is 1.2% at a 95% confidence interval. Respondents to this survey are subscribers to various Internet and print media, and therefore represent lesbians and gay men who can be reached using the media. Community Marketing has developed its survey pool over the last eleven years by partnering with leading media companies including Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, GayWired.com, LesbiaNation.com, Gay Travel News, Passport, Curve, Instinct, HX, Genre, and others. Subscribers to various email lists received an invitation to take a gay/lesbian travel survey; however, no attempt was made to pre-qualify the invitations to survey only people who travel. The incentive offered to respondents to complete the survey was one chance out of all respondents to win a $500 gift card. This methodology polls LGBT consumers who represent the target audience of gays and lesbians who can be reached using print and the Internet. We make no attempt in this survey to define the size of the LGBT population, nor to invade the privacy of our respondents by asking them to “out” themselves in a random survey, which as demonstrated in the 2000 U.S. Census, grossly underestimates the size of the gay population. It should be kept in mind that the findings derive from those who identify openly as gay and subscribe lesbian and gay publications and websites. These results should not necessarily be extrapolated to the entire gay and lesbian population; however, these findings do provide guidance regarding the perceptions and opinions of "out" gay travelers who can be reached through gay websites and publications. Some survey questions invite multiple responses and in these cases, percentages total more than 100. In addition, the term “gay” refers to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, unless otherwise noted. Conditions for Use Permission to use data is granted on the condition that all references to this research credit “Community Marketing, Inc., San Francisco, CA, 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey, September 2006.” Community Marketing, Inc. • 584 Castro St. #834 • San Francisco CA 94114 USA • 415/437-3800 www.CommunityMarketingInc.com Page 2 of 76 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey Profile September 2006 Table of Contents Summary and Key Points .....................................................................................................5 Our Median Gay Traveler, “Michael” ................................................................................................7 Travel Frequency .................................................................................................................8 Number of Overnight Trips ..................................................................................................................8 Length of Trips .......................................................................................................................................9 Travel Spending....................................................................................................................................10 Changes in Spending Habits..............................................................................................................................11 Air Travel ..............................................................................................................................................12 Propensity to Purchase Airline Tickets Online.................................................................................................13 Hotel Usage............................................................................................................................................14 Propensity to Purchase Accommodations Online.............................................................................................15 Important Hotel Features ...................................................................................................................................16 Eco-Friendly Hotels ...........................................................................................................................................17 Car Rentals............................................................................................................................................18 Propensity to Make Car Rental Reservations Online .......................................................................................19 Cruise Vacations...................................................................................................................................20 Types of Cruises Taken .....................................................................................................................................21 Motivations for Taking a Cruise........................................................................................................................23 Gay Cruises ........................................................................................................................................................24 Propensity to Purchase Cruises Online .............................................................................................................25 Destinations........................................................................................................................26 Passport..................................................................................................................................................26 Most Visited Destinations....................................................................................................................27 Top US Destinations.............................................................................................................................28 Preferences by Age and Sexual Orientation for Leisure Travel.......................................................................30