Philadelphia jumps from 13 to 11 in gay U.S. destinations list

Community Marketing, Inc.(CMI), the San Francisco-based LGBT market research and communications firm, has taken an annual pulse on the state of gay and lesbian tourism and hospitality since 1994.

"In this dynamic market space, and with shifting trends in both destination acceptance and traveler motivations, it's as important as ever to gauge destination strength, and adjust marketing strategies accordingly," said David Paisley, CMI's Senior Research Director. "Our large surveys are representative of LGBT consumers who are influenced by destination marketing campaigns, and who decide their travel plans accordingly."

Top 25 US Destinations for American LGBT Travelers with percentage who visited (as Combined Leisure & Business Travel Ranking)
1) New York City: 32%
2) San Francisco: 27%
3) Las Vegas: 26%
4) Chicago: 25%
5) Los Angeles / West Hollywood: 24%
6) Washington, DC: 23%
7) Fort Lauderdale: 17%
8) San Diego: 15%
9) Orlando: 14%
9) Seattle: 14%
11) Boston: 13%
11) Philadelphia: 13%
13) Palm Springs 12%
13) Atlanta: 12%
13) Miami: 12%
16) Dallas: 11%
16) Denver: 11%
16) Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale: 11%
19) New Orleans: 10%
20) Napa County, CA: 9%
20) Provincetown, MA: 9%
20) Sonoma County, CA: 9%
23) Portland, OR 8%
23) Baltimore: 8%
23) Tampa/St. Pete: 8%

CMI's annual studies are unlike other reports, which are either popularity contests ("what's your favorite destination?") or present small samples. CMI reports on visited destinations; the places that gay and lesbians traveled to in the past year, and stayed at least one overnight in a hotel. Over 7,000 LGBT consumers took CMI's Gay & Lesbian Tourism Survey in 2009. The rankings above reflect the 4,726 LGBT survey-takers living in the United States. Participants were geographically balanced, closely matching census data.

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