Painting the Caribbean pink

It was reported recently that attorneys-general in the Caribbean might soon be reviewing legislation regarding homosexuality. Currently, the majority, if not all, the English-speaking Caribbean countries regard homosexuality as a crime.

And, apart from the fact that the Caribbean has a sizeable and growing number of homosexuals, society at large, due to primarily religious reasons, reject the lifestyle wholeheartedly. In islands like Jamaica, for instance, being openly gay could lead to death and is punishable under that country’s sodomy laws. Just recently Jamaican Prime Minister stated in an interview in the UK that he would “never” accept gays in his Cabinet, thereby underlining the prevailing sentiment in that island.

In other islands, gay people, while not accepted, just get on with life quietly, hosting their own private parties, hanging out in their own spaces, moving with their own kind.

In reviewing the legislation, Caricom, the body leading the initiative, hopes to decriminalise homosexuality, which would assist a great deal in fighting HIV/Aids among that community. But it may also be a huge step to eventually pave the way for societal acceptance of that group of people. And in that acceptance lies an implication for Caribbean tourism to open itself up to a market other countries have been exploiting for years: the gay market.

Gay-tourism is a huge industry. “Gay travelers tend to take trips more often, stay longer and spend more than other travelers, according to a survey by Community Marketing Inc., a research firm specialising in the gay travel market. Gay travelers took a median of five overnight trips in the last 12 months ending in August 2006, compared with four trips for Americans in general, and spent a median of $6,273 in travel expenses, compared with roughly $3,000 for all travelers,” said a report in the New York Times.

Greece has certainly seen the benefits of gay tourism. A report from the Greek daily newspaper Eleftheros Tipos, for instance, says visits from homosexual couples add up to $1.5 billion.

Research, the report says, had shown homosexuals spend two or three times more money than other tourists. Large portion of the Gay Tourists (three per cent internationally) choose cruises on the Aegean.
Recognising the importance of the gay market, tourism officials in California are capitalising on the lifting of the ban on gay marriage and luring gay couples to the State.

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LA INC, the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, announced a new web marketing campaign designed to make Los Angeles the nation’s top destination for same-sex weddings, a LA Times report said, quoting a press release from the mayor’s office.

“The California State Supreme Court’s recent ruling which legalised gay marriage is expected to spark a tourism boom as nearly 70,000 extra visitors come to California in the historic new era of marriage rights and equality. In recognition of this fact, LA INC has created a one-stop shop at www.discoverlosangeles.com where visitors can now find the information they need to make wedding plans and travel arrangements.”

“The same-sex marriage boom could bring as much as $684 million to California in the next three years, the release said, extrapolating figures provided by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Estimates for Los Angeles, when you factor in ceremonies, food and lodging for brides and grooms and families and friends, gifts, honeymoons and related tchotchkes, come to an additional $57 million per year.”

In an age when high fuel prices are forcing major airlines to cut down on flights, and other areas of the world are emerging as alternative tourist spots to the Caribbean, embracing the gay market may be a lucrative move for the region, especially now that the region is a preferred destination for cruise ships, and the cruise industry is actively courting the gay market. There are many gay charters, and cruises not specifically aimed at the gay market are increasingly booking gay travellers.

While some destinations are profiting from these cruises, many Caribbean islands are losing out because of protest action against them as happened in the Cayman Islands in 1998 where a gay cruise was not given permission to dock. That same year a cruise ship carrying lesbians was met by protestors in the Bahamas.

While tourism officials discuss ways to boost the region’s tourism product, this is a market that cannot, and should not, be ignored. Only time will show the islands brave enough to tap into this lucrative product.