West Hollywood Takes Aim At Gay Tourists

California may have taken away the right to same sex marriage but one town is banking on the gay tourist buck. West Hollywood is hoping to cash in on the disposable income that many homosexual tourists have.

Studies show that the homosexual tourist is more likely to spend more than the heterosexual tourist. For that reason many struggling cities struggling with economic problems have targeted gay and lesbian travelers. West Hollywood is the latest city to promote their city as a gay mecca. On their Go Gay West Hollywood.com site the visitor's bureau is pulling out all the hot spots in town and pasting shirtless men to induce their target. Some of the area business owners are rooting for the campaign to work. They know that the targets tourists tend to be more upscale than other groups. Gay travelers spend on average $349 a day compared to straight tourists who spend $269 a day. West Hollywood already has a steady volume of homosexual tourists. In 2007 17 percent of all visitors to the city identified themselves as homosexual. The homosexual tourist market is estimated at $690 billion. That sum is expected to grow in the future, up to $835 billion by 2011.