Study: Gays more
likely to travel overseas

Gay men and lesbians are more likely than their straight counterparts to spend their next vacation overseas, says an online survey released Tuesday by Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications. Fourteen percent of gay and lesbian adults say that for their next vacation, they are planning to travel to an overseas destination, compared with 7% of straight adults. The study also revealed that gays and lesbians were more likely to plan personal travel to major cities in the United States, with 27% of those respondents choosing major cities for their next vacation compared with 21% of heterosexual adults. "For several years, we have tracked the strong affinity of the gay-lesbian market for travel, particularly for popular destinations at home and overseas," said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs. "With fewer children and somewhat higher discretionary income, lesbian and gay adults consistently index higher than their heterosexual counterparts." The study also demonstrates the appeal that gay and lesbian cruises can have with this market. More than one in four straight adults (27%) say they've taken a cruise on a mainstream cruise line such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, etc., compared with fewer than one in five gay and lesbian adults (18%). Yet 10% of gay adults say they have taken a specialty cruise aimed specifically at gay travelers. (Advocate.com)