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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jeffrey S. Garber OpusComm Group, Inc. 315 Highland Ave. Syracuse, NY 13203 Gay and Lesbian Travelers Rank Favorite Destinations in New Study Syracuse, New York – October 17, 2001 – San Francisco and Provincetown, Massachusetts are the two preferred destinations for gay and lesbian travelers, a new study shows. Key West, Florida; Amsterdam, Holland; and New York City round out the top five, according to “2001 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census” findings just released. The census, a joint project of OpusComm Group, The S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University, and media/entertainment company GSociety, is the most in-depth study to date to explore the consumer patterns of gay and lesbian people. Of 6,351 respondents, 5,869 are from the United States. “It is significant that each of the most popular destinations has long cultivated a gay-friendly image,” explains project leader Jeffrey Garber, president of OpusComm Group, Inc. “We are finding that the gay market strongly prefers to buy from gay-knowledgeable businesses and service providers. We now see this extending to tourist destinations as well.” “I think we will see more cities follow in the footsteps of San Francisco, Key West, Provincetown — all the traditionally gay and lesbian travel destinations — and begin actively courting the growing gay and lesbian market,” says Amy Falkner of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. “They are ignoring a large and untapped market if they don’t.” Cary Gilbert, vice president of GSociety, believes that the number of gay and lesbian people in committed relationships — over 50 percent of census respondents — will have an impact on the travel industry. “They are forming couples and combining their earnings. When you get educated, affluent people with disposable income, they naturally travel more. And gay people preferentially travel to gay-friendly destinations. It will make a difference how this group is targeted in the future.” The study reports the median gay household income as $65,000, an increase of almost 60 percent over the national median income of $40,800. The Census is the combined
effort of three partners: OpusComm Group Inc., (Founder of the 2001
Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census Partnership) The principals of the
OpusComm Group have been providing exciting and effective marketing, public relations
and advertising to a broad range of clients from Fortune 500 to small
businesses for over sixteen years. Now,
as one of the world's leading researchers in Gay/Lesbian consumerism, we provide
the strategy that can guide you through implementation to reach untapped
markets. Our strength is consultation
of sensitive issues and market plan development for all types to target the
gay/lesbian community in the mainstream media. www.opuscommgroup.com The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse
University -
As one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions in the field
of communications, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse
University is leading the development of the Census. www.syracuse.edu GSociety, Inc.
- A media/entertainment company whose reach and distribution channels target the
millions of gay and lesbian consumers worldwide. The GSociety family of companies provides advertisers direct access
to this valuable market. For more
information, visit www.gsociety.com Media Sponsors: Advocate, Axess Promotions, Curve Magazine,
Express, Gay Crawler, Instinct, Joey Magazine, Metro, Proud Parenting, and She
Magazine For
further information contact Jeffrey Garber, president, OpusComm Group, at
(315)422-6250 or jeff@opuscommgroup.com. Full
highlights of this study on Income, Politics, Consumer Behavior, Media H ### IMPORTANT NOTICE: IN GRANTING BROADCAST/PRINT PERMISSION TO PUBLICIZE ANY/OR
ALL PORTIONS OF "2001 GAY/LESBIAN CONSUMER ONLINE CENSUS" INFORMATION PROVIDED .: You
are authorized to quote from this report only if credited as follows: “A Syracuse University, OpusComm Group,
GSociety Study". You may also want to add: “For more information please visit
http://www.glcensus.org”
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