Las Vegas still a favorite for LGBT tourists, survey indicates
Las Vegas remains one of the nation’s leading destinations for gay tourists and Nevada’s distinction as a “blue state” could play in its favor after a report indicated some LGBT travelers fear for their safety in red states.
San Francisco-based Community Marketing & Insights on Tuesday released its 21st annual survey on the travel habits of gay tourists and found few changes in the ranking of destinations favored by gay men and women.
The survey was, in part, sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
In 2016, Las Vegas ranked in a tie for second with Los Angeles and San Francisco in a survey of 2,215 gay and bisexual men, trailing leader New York City. Among 1,070 lesbians and bisexual women, Las Vegas finished in a three-way tie for third with Chicago and Los Angeles, trailing No. 1 New York and No. 2 San Francisco.
CMI’s survey found that between 19 percent and 20 percent of the men surveyed had made a trip to Las Vegas for business or pleasure in 2016. Among women, between 13 percent and 14 percent of those surveyed made at least one trip to the city. 
Las Vegas also ranks in CMI’s second tier of cities attractive to gays to conduct business. The city is in the same tier as Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco, but below top-tier Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.
CMI analysts ranked Las Vegas No. 4 in its “power rankings” based on the percentage of respondents traveling to the city and weighting the results by gender and generation as well as whether respondents were from the United States or Canada.
A total of 4,731 respondents completed the 10-minute online survey between Nov. 17 and Dec. 5 with the report focusing on 3,723 self-identified members of the U.S. LGBT community.
ELECTION AN INFLUENCE
David Paisley, senior research director for CMI, said researchers learned through questioning that the results of November’s general election could influence future travel decisions as the gay community considers how welcome and safe they’d be in states that voted Republican.
“We’re getting a little feedback that the LGBT community is a little freaked out right now, particularly with the incoming president,” Paisley said.
He explained that in economic surveys conducted in late summer and fall, respondents were generally comfortable with their outlook leading into the election. But the travel survey was conducted after the election, after respondents had the opportunity to digest the election results, and some who responded included residents of foreign countries.
“We asked an open-ended question, ‘Hey, is there anything you want to tell us about LGBT travel?’ We wanted to give people a chance to vent about the election,” Paisley said. 
“One person said, ‘As a lesbian parent, I will not be visiting the U.S. as long as Donald Trump holds elected office,’” Paisley said. “It’s something we’re going to need to watch. European travelers have a lot of options. They don’t have to come to the United States, they can go to other countries in Europe or other parts of the world.”
Some respondents, he said, were concerned about their safety in some places.
“Another person said, ‘I believe the Trump election will make a massive difference in safety concerns in travel.’ Another person said their partner had plans to visit Chicago, but just after the election, decided against it.
“This last one is really interesting. This person who said he’s in Washington state said, ‘I’m very less interested in visiting red states. I don’t feel as safe as I would be in blue states.’ That’s really interesting to us.”
APPEALING TO ALL TRAVELERS
Mya Reyes, president of the Las Vegas Gay Visitors Bureau, said she’s not concerned that the new political climate would affect gay tourism in Las Vegas because the city has always provided attractions that appeal to all travelers.
“Las Vegas has always been a welcoming destination among LGBT visitors,” she said. “I’ve never heard of any reference of change due to the new administration.”
Reyes said she expects gay travelers to continue to flock to Las Vegas because it offers so many of the amenities they seek — good food and new restaurants, natural scenery, outdoor adventures, big-city energy, nightclubs, warm weather and concerts and shows.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
