Vancouver tops for gay tourism
VANCOUVER (CBC) - Vancouver has been named Canada's top destination for gay tourists, beating out Montreal and Toronto for the first time.
The top ranking was the result of an international survey conducted by Community Marketing of San Francisco.
Taylore Darnel owns Belles and Balls, which organizes gay weddings. She said clients from the U.S. and other countries find Vancouver a welcoming place.
Visitors appreciate "being able to walk down the street hand in hand, being able to walk on the beach and have their arms around each other," she said, "particularly those who come from south of the Mason-Dixon line, where even looking at each other sidewise on the street is not a good thing to do."
Darnel also said a few of her American and Asian clients loved the city so much, they've moved to Vancouver.
The head of Tourism Vancouver says aggressive marketing aimed at the gay community is paying off. Rick Antonson said hotels and resorts have been offering special packages for the gay traveller.
Demographic studies show the gay population has a large amount of disposable income, making gays desirable customers. Gay travellers spend an estimated $65 billion a year in North America alone.
Since February 4, 2006