Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Gay tourists are welcome, but ...

Two elected officials worry that promoting Pinellas as "gay-friendly" could turn off traditional families and couples.

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published June 28, 2006

Not so fast on promoting Pinellas County as a "gay-friendly" tourist destination.

One day after the release of a consultant's report that raised the idea of marketing the area specifically to gay and lesbian visitors, two prominent elected officials called for taking things slowly.

"Can we advertise Pinellas County as an open destination to everyone and not offend those who think that's endorsing a particular lifestyle?" said County Commission chairman Kenneth Welch, who also chairs a committee that oversees Pinellas tourism marketing. "It's a discussion we need to have."

St. Petersburg City Council chairman Bill Foster supported a consultant's recommendation to research whether marketing to gay tourists could turn off traditional families and couples that make up most of Pinellas visitors.

"If we market heavily in this area ... and have significantly more events that cater to this niche, will we reduce our chances of getting, say, a religious convention?" said Foster, who also serves on the tourism committee. "The public tells me they don't want St. Petersburg or Pinellas County to be perceived like Key West."

Using money from a 1-percentage-point increase in the resort tax, the county's tourism marketing agency began a program to target "niche markets," including gay travelers.

Dozens of tourist destinations court gay tourists, who have higher average incomes, travel more and spend more on vacations than other visitors. Fort Lauderdale, Key West and Miami advertise in gay publications and have gay-specific information on their tourism Web sites.

Promoting Pinellas as gay-friendly would be the same as advertising a welcome message to Hispanic audiences, said Carole Ketterhagen, executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Agency staff would submit any new advertising to the county's Tourist Development Council before launching a campaign, she said.

A new member of the council, Welch said he was surprised to learn last month about plans to market the county to gay tourists. He wants the panel to discuss the issue at its July 12 meeting.

"We want to be a destination that's open to everyone regardless of orientation," Welch said. "But I'm not sure we need to target groups based on orientation."

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.

[Last modified June 28, 2006, 01:18:28]