First Study On LGBT Travel To Hawaii Yields Interesting Results
Last week the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) released a group of reports on LGBT travelers to the state from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and China, the first studies of their kind.
Some interesting details emerged:
* 70% of U.S. respondents consider Hawaii to be an LGBT-friendly destination, while only 50% of LGBT Canadians do.
* 71% of LGBT travelers from the States visited Hawaii with a partner. The typical LGBT U.S. visitor has a household income of more than $100,000.
* 12% of LGBT Australians have traveled to Hawaii in the past three years and 35% said they would visit Hawaii in the future for a Pride Festival. Only a quarter of U.S. respondents said they would.
* Most of the Chinese LGBT respondents were new to international travel and were interested in places of general interest rather than those that are LGBT-specific.
“We initiated these studies to provide travel industry businesses statewide with both a broader and more precise base of knowledge as to how they can capture a greater market share of LGBT travelers from our key source markets,” said Daniel Nahoopii, HTA Director of Tourism Research. “These studies also confirm that Hawaii travel providers can benefit from more targeted marketing, new product offerings, and a greater understanding as to what LGBT travelers are seeking when visiting Hawaii.”
The HTA has also announced plans to issue two additional studies in the next couple months devoted to LGBT travelers hailing from Japan and Taiwan.
While Gen-X and millennial travelers offer a great potential for growth, Nahoopi said Hawaii is not on their radar. "The Islands are not as well known to them as they are to LGBT Baby Boomers. Increasing awareness about Hawaii’s range of offerings is key to elevating interest from this younger generation of travelers.”
The Aloha State has long had a connection to the LGBT community—the fight for marriage equality began in Hawaii with the groundbreaking 1991 lawsuit Baehr v. Miike. And native Hawaiian culture recognizes māhū as a third gender similar to Two-Spirit, with certain traditional duties.
