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, MA02139 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. Acatalogue 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 AMADataSet 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 AAcckknnoowwlleeddggeemmeennttss Acknowledgements Thisbook,inmanyways,marksanotherstageofalong,personaljourney. 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. Inaddition,certainpeoplehavebeenparticularlyhelpfulwithrespect tothegenesisandcompletionofthisbook:PhilippaHunter-Jones,aclose friendaswellascolleague,gaveencouragementatthestartwhenIdidnot reallybelievethatsuchabookcouldbewritten,letalonebyme.Muchof thecreditforthefactthatithasbeenwrittenatallmustgotoher.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 thatensuredthatthebookwaseventuallycompleted.Herefficiencyand 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 alwaysencouragedmyprojects.Hisknowledgeandexpertiseinthisfield areunsurpassableandhehasalwaysfoundthetimeinhisbusyschedule 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,havebeenaninspiration.Theirworkinthisandrelated 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. Kevinhasbeenpartofthetourismexperienceforsometimenowbut has,ofcourse,hadamuchmoresignificantroleinmylifethanasatravel- lingcompanion.Hehasendured,withagoodgrace,tripswhichwerenot alwaysofhisownchoosing.Kevin'senduranceofasharedlifeis,tome, astonishing but joyfully appreciated none the less. Myappreciation,too,toseveralcohortsofundergraduatestudentsat ManchesterMetropolitanUniversitywhohavetolerated(and,inapleas- 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 morethangenerouswithhisoffersofassistance.Heprovidedtheresults ofareadersurveycarriedoutinGayTimesandDivaintheperiodMayto October2005,forwhichIamverygrateful.Unfortunatelytheywereavail- abletoolatetobeincorporatedintothisbook(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 mehaveaccesstotheresultsofaninternationalgaytravelsurveycarried 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,enthusiasticallyandcheerfullymeteveryrequestforassistance. 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 themforgivingtheirtimesoreadilyandalsoforkeepingmyfeetonthe ground. Gratefulthanksisalsogiventothosewhogavepermissiontorepro- duceadvertisementsandotherpromotionalmaterial:ManfredJ.Kaufmann, Manager Public Advertising, Vienna Tourist Board (Fig. 2.1); Andrew Roberts,GeneralManager,AMROHolidays(Figs3.1,5.4and6.13);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);IanJohnson,PrincipalConsultantofOutNowCon- sulting(Fig.5.3);MichaelGibberdandPeterRussell,TheExclusivelyGay CruisingCompany(Fig.6.1);TonyBloomfield,DirectorandLornaJasper, Generalmanager,VillageTravel(Fig.6.2);NeilBasnett,AwayGayHoli- days(Figs6.3and6.4);RobHarkavy,Director,RespectHolidays(Fig.6.5); Vicki,Proprietor,BondiHotel(Fig.6.6); HeatherandHelen,Proprietors, viii Acknowledgements Gabrielle'sHotel(Fig.6.7);StephenJoyce,GeneralManager,TradesHotel andRainbowsHotel(Fig.6.8);RonaldWalgreen,HotelNewAmsterdam (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). CInhtraopdteurc t1ion 1 Introduction The aim of this book is to examine the holidays of gays and lesbians from,primarily,amarketingperspective.Italsoexamineshowmarketing activity engages with and affects social issues relating to homosexuality. Theprimarytargetaudienceforthisbookispostgraduateandsecond- andthird-yearundergraduatestudentsontourism,hospitality,leisureand recreationmanagementcourses.Somepriorknowledgeofmarketingand offirst-leveltourismstudiesisassumed.Nonethelessstudentsoncourses 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 regardedasalientotheirowndiscipline’sperspectiveonhomosexuality. Theywillfind,hopefully,thatitprovidessomeconstructiveandthought- provokingillumination ofissues ofsexual orientationandcontributesto further understanding of these issues. Concepts and Terms The statement of aim conceals several complications, not the least of whichiswhatismeantby‘gaysandlesbians’.Thisisanissuethatwillbe exploredinthenextchapter,but,forthemoment,‘gaysandlesbians’can be regarded, in a commonly used sense, as referring to male and female homosexuals(thoughthistermisalsoopaque),i.e.peoplewhoaresexu- ally attracted to people of the same biological sex. The term ‘holiday’ is notsodifficulttopindown,though‘tourism’isoftenusedtomeanholi- 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’iswiderthanholidayandincludes(interalia)businessandcon- ferencetripsandvisitstofriendsandrelatives,butitisalsorestrictive(at leastintheUK)inthatitincludesonlytripsthatareofminimum24-hour durationorthatinvolveanovernightstay(WorldTourismOrganization, 1981;EnglishTourismCounciletal.,2002);itthereforeexcludesdaytrips. Inthisbook,thetermsholidayandtourismwillbeusedinterchangeably and tourism will usually refer to holidays, unless otherwise indicated. The term ‘gay and lesbian tourism’ will also be used, though it was dis- cardedbyCox(2001)infavourof‘gayholidaymaking’,astheformerterm was felt to imply a particular type of tourism involving holiday interac- tionwithothergaysorlesbians.Thisbookdealswiththewidestholiday experiencesofgaysandlesbiansandnotjustwithanyoneparticulartype of holidaymaking that may be the focus of some gays and lesbians. ‘Gay’ and ‘lesbian’ are used here as they are more widely used than ‘homosexual’ in everyday usage, in the media and in academic studies. ‘Gay’is sometimesused tocoverbothmale and female homosexuals (as in‘gays’or‘gaymenandwomen’)andinthisbookitwilloftenbeusedin thiswayasa‘shorthand’term.Usually,however,‘gay’willbeappliedto men only, with women being referred to as lesbians. On occasion, the catch-allterm‘lesbian,gay,bisexualandtransgender’,orvariationsofit, (usuallyabbreviatedtolgbtorequivalentssuchasglbt,lgborglb)willbe usedinthebookwhereitisusedbyothersorwhereitseemsappropriate to encompass a wider population. The term ‘straight’ is in widespread usetodesignatenon-gaysorheterosexualsandittoowill,onoccasion,be used in this book. The holiday experiences of those who are bisexual or transgendered do not feature in this book. This is, in large part, because of the lack of informationabouttheirholiday experiences;thisomissiondoes,though, also conveniently mean that the need to consider the contentious nature of bisexuality, in particular, and the distinguishing characteristics and behaviour of bisexuals and transgender people is avoided. If bisexuality is, for the sake of simplicity, regarded as being attracted (physically or emotionally) to both the same and to the other sex, this may have been experiencedbymostoftheadultpopulationatsometime,eitherconcur- rentlyorseparately.Insurveyswherepeopleself-categorizetheirsexual- ity, the proportion that identify as bisexual is invariably low – typically between 2% and 6% of the non-heterosexual population (Mintel, 2000a; GLCensusPartners,2001,2002;http://www.gaytravelguides.info,2004; Browne et al., 2005). If a flexible notion of sexuality is accepted, then the concept of bisexuality has very little meaning anyway (Horowitz and Newcomb, 2001). Transgender is less to do with sexual orientation than with gender identity. The use of the word ‘pink’ in the title reflects the fact that there is a widespreadusageandrecognitionoftheterm‘pinkpound’or‘pinkdollar’ to refer to the purchasing power of gays and lesbians (though usually