Arizona. Cities Seeking To Lure Gay Tourists

While conservatives work to add a gay marriage ban to the state Constitution, many Arizona cities are rolling out the welcome mat to gay tourists, marketing the state as a cosmopolitan, tolerant place to vacation.
Tempe is in the midst of a sophisticated campaign to lure gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travelers. The Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau launched a Web portal for GLBT visitors on its Web site, and the city plans to usher travel writers from gay publications around town in the spring.
It's not the only Valley municipality eyeing a slice of the estimated $65 billion gay travel market.
Later this month, Phoenix leaders will discuss ways to strengthen the city's gay tourism plan. A glossy, 89-page visitors and relocation guide, published by the Phoenix gay chamber of commerce, is flying off the shelves. And officials in Tucson, Sedona, Bisbee and Jerome say they informally angle for those visitors.
Millions of dollars could be at stake. This weekend, a crowd of 5,000 attended the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association's annual competition at Rawhide. Likely thanks to a boost from the public fascination with the movie Brokeback Mountain, this year's rodeo drew Access Hollywood, the BBC, French reporters and The Daily Show. Many contestants and spectators said they are more likely to travel to cities that strive to be gay-friendly.
"I come from Fort Lauderdale, and I like places like that, where it's OK if I have a boyfriend, to hold his hand," said Alan Stark, 43. Making out in public, Stark added, would be in poor taste for anyone, gay or straight. "I want to be treated like anyone else."
By the end of his four-day trip, which included a mini shopping spree for a black felt hat, Wranglers and boots at Sheplers Western store, Stark said he would spend $2,000.
"My money spends like anyone else's," said Albuquerque resident Andee Henderson,38, who attended the rodeo and often travels to the Valley to visit her godson. She usually times the trips so she can go to Diamondbacks or Mercury games. "You are tapping into a market that tends to have more money," she said, adding that she would probably spend $1,000.
Family-friendly state
But not everyone wants the hospitality industry courting the demographic. Cities shouldn't destroy the Grand Canyon State's family-friendly reputation to wrangle a few extra bucks, according to critics like Leo Godzich, president of the National Association of Marriage Enhancement.
Although the spending power of gay and lesbian globetrotters makes some cities salivate, the state's conservative streak does make it harder to attract gay travelers, some say.
A coalition of activist groups is gathering signatures for a proposition on the November ballot that would amend the state Constitution by limiting marriage to a union between one man and one woman. It likely would also prohibit local governments from giving benefits to gay or straight unmarried partners.
Rolling out the red carpet to gays will scare away families who vacation or would relocate here, Godzich says. Thirteen states have recently passed similar marriage laws by wide margins, he said, and he expects Arizona to do the same.
"Our tourism dollars should be spent on the bulk of the population, not 2 percent of the population," Godzich said.
Gay tourism, though, is gaining supporters. Phoenix is letting money slip through its fingers, said City Councilman Tom Simplot, who is gay.
"I wish the ballot initiative did not exist, but that doesn't mean we should back off tourism," said Simplot, who is hosting a Jan. 25 gathering on the issue. "If you look at it from a tax perspective . . . we are leaving dollars on the table."
Phoenix will never be San Francisco. But it has the warm weather advantage of seasoned gay-friendly resort cities such as Palm Springs, Calif., and Key West, Fla., and offers sophisticated dining, shopping and outdoor pursuits.
It doesn't hurt that the state already hosts major gay events and that Phoenix is home to dozens of gay bars.
Other major U.S. cities also are serious about gay travelers, Simplot and gay business owners say. Even Phoenix's rival, snowy Philadelphia, has launched an advertising campaign targeting gay tourists.
Reluctant to talk
Because politics are a carefully avoided cloud in the sunny world of tourism, many hospitality experts are extremely reluctant to talk about the proposed proposition.
Enticing gay tourists is complicated. It's not as simple as slapping a rainbow logo on the city's Web site. Cities that really want gay business have to have buy-in from city leaders, law enforcement and the business community, experts say.
Tempe began its campaign three years ago with careful research, said Stephanie Nowack, president and chief executive of the Tempe Convention & Visitors Bureau. It later joined industry groups, sent city employees to conferences, bought ads in gay publications and set up a GLBT portal on www.tempecvb.com.
Tempe also hopes to cash in on its cool factor. It's a college town, has citywide Wi-Fi and a high-profile gay former mayor: Neil Giuliano, who now heads a national gay advocacy group, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The city is seeing results. A 2004 gay-themed business conference helped sell out Tempe's Wyndham Buttes Resort.
Phoenix sends representatives to gay conferences and hosts travel writers from gay publications, said Doug MacKenzie, spokesman for the Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau. That effort has bloomed into glowing write-ups in the gay press, he said.
There have been stumbles, though, says Patrick Kelley, a Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce board member. A Tempe hotel was courting a transgender group (those who cross gender lines) that needed conference space, he said, while officials from another Valley city, which also was looking for gay tourists, had to ask the gay chamber what "transgender" meant.
from AZ Central