Gay Days Expected To Bring In $100 Million

ORLANDO, Fla. — The annual Gay Days event is expected to bring 150,000 people into Orlando. The event caused a lot of controversy when it was first held in Orlando 19 years ago, but now organizers say Orlando’s tourism industry is supporting it like never before.
An estimated $100 million is expected to be generated thanks to the Gay Days event. Gay Days has grown from a one day event to a week long event.
About 3,000 people showed up for the event it’s first year. Now, an estimated 150,000 people are expected to fill Central Florida, bars, theaters, malls, restaurants and theme parks.
As a result, a number of big-time attractions are looking to get a piece of the pie. Universal Studios Blue Man group and Sea World’s Discovery Cove are now sponsors of the event for the first time. Organizers say they know why.
“With the economy stalling, you go after the market that has disposable income. More disposable income for vacation,” said VP of Gay Days Inc. Chris Alexander-Manley. See Gay Days Expected To Bring In $100 Million
WFtv.com

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Gay Entertainment Report: UK Apprentice Hits Gay Row

Donald Trump’s NBC hit The Apprentice has crossed the pond, where Sir Alan Sugar calls the shots and sacks contestants unfit for duty. The latest to get cut was Mona Lewis, a former Tanzanian beauty queen, amid allegations of homophobia.
Billionaire entrepreneur and media personality Sugar began his Trump impersonation in 2005, when BBC Two aired the first season of The Apprentice UK.
This week’s firing came amid allegations of homophobia.
Twenty-eight-year-old Lewis grumbled along when her team was tasked to revitalize the sagging tourism industry of the seacoast town of Margate. The group lost the task with the idea of attracting gay and lesbian tourists, and Lewis was blamed for her salty demeanor.
After losing the task, fingers were pointed at Lewis, and she returned to the boardroom to face Sugar. See Gay Entertainment Report: UK Apprentice Hits Gay Row
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Travel marketers eye gay travel dollars

More and more tourism industry marketers are eyeing the gay travel market. That’s no surprise considering the market’s disposable income. Here are the numbers courtes of Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris Interactive,
2004-2008.

6.8% of Americans over the age of 18 roughly 16 million adults self
identify as GLBT.

The buying power of the U.S. GLBT market is estimated at over $712 billion.

There are conservatively estimated over three million same-sex-couple households in the United States.

Nearly one in four U.S. gay men and lesbians live in households with children under the age of 18.

Because roughly 25% of U.S. GLBT households have children, GLBT consumers tend to have more discretionary income to spend than the average American family, affording them more per capita buying power than many consumer populations.

See Travel marketers eye gay travel dollars
Examiner.com