|
COPYRIGHT 2005 The Miami Herald
Byline: Steve Rothaus
Feb. 21--At the end of the rainbow there isn't a pot of gold, but there is $11 million.
That's how much South Florida tourism officials expect will be raked in during the 12th annual Winter Party Festival, a March 2 to 7 convergence of high-spending gays and lesbians from all over the world.
"Thousand of folks will come in and spend money," said William Talbert III, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. "At the end of the day, Winter Party is about supporting jobs in our community."
Winter Party organizers expect 10,000 gay visitors and locals will spend big bucks at a Margaret Cho comedy concert, Art Deco walking tours, art exhibits in South Beach and Miami's Design District, an outdoor "Movie Under the Stars" and the festival's signature beach party near 14th Street and Ocean Drive.
Gay tourism has become a big business: American gay men and lesbians represent a $54.1 billion travel market, or an estimated 10 percent of the U.S. travel industry, according to Community Marketing, a San Francisco company that tracks gay travel.
And tourist-hungry South Florida is eager for a big piece of that pie.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, for example, hosts a gay-oriented Web page called the Rainbow...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
