SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), the San Francisco-based LGBT market research and communications firm, has just released its annual rankings of the destinations most visited by the gay and lesbian community.

CMI has been reporting these rankings for over a decade using a consistent format and study group of gay and lesbian travelers. CMI's annual study ranks on actual visits, 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 below reflect the 4,726 LGBT survey-takers living in the United States. Participants were geographically balanced, closely matching census data.

Overall trends included:

         1)  Due to the deep recession, almost all destinations experienced a
             decrease in LGBT travel, except Washington DC which garnered
             higher numbers.
         2)  The rankings remain remarkably consistent from past years. A few
             destinations such as Seattle, however, did jump up in rankings.
         3)  The top seven LGBT destinations experienced the least decline in
             LGBT visitors, while other destinations experienced larger
             declines.
         4)  Overall, leisure travel declined slightly among LGBT travelers,
             but gay and lesbian business travel and cruise travel saw steeper
             drop-offs.

For other top LGBT destination rankings by gender or age, or for top LGBT international destinations, please visit our website: http://communitymarketinginc.com/media.php

The following list reflects the 4,726 American LGBT survey takers, who traveled to the city in the past 12 months and spent at least one night in a hotel.

Top 25 US Destinations for American LGBT Travelers with percentage who visited (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. Petersburg: 8%

Top 5 US Destinations for American LGBT Travelers (Leisure Travel Ranking)

    1)    New York
    2)    Las Vegas
    3)    San Francisco
    4)    Los Angeles / West Hollywood
    5)    Chicago

Top 5 US Destinations for American LGBT Travelers (Business Travel Ranking)

    1)    Chicago
    2)    New York
    3)    Washington DC
    4)    San Francisco
    5)    Los Angeles

The survey also asked which hotel brand and airline have done the best job outreaching to the gay and lesbian community. W Hotels and Kimpton Hotels tied as the top hotel brands, and American Airlines was by far the top airline.

Press: For more information about this research, please contact David Paisley, Senior Research Director at 415/437-3800 or david@CommunityMarketingInc.com.

SOURCE Community Marketing, Inc.

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