In contrast to trends observed and being released by Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), PRIDE Travel sales to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT) leisure is up slightly for the year ending 2009 according to S. Nathan DePetris, its Chief Operations Officer and owner. "We have seen growth not only in the number of LGBT Leisure clients booking trips," noted DePetris, "but also in the length of travel." Adding that although more clients were staying closer to home, those that are journeying afield are traveling farther and for longer, taking advantage of the economic downturn's many values that have been injected into and became available as travel products this year.

According to CMI, LGBT leisure travel was only slightly down overall during the past 12 months, but held reasonably steady despite the recession. "Less affected by economic downturns than their mainstream counterparts… LGBT leisure travelers remain an important niche market for tourism and hospitality," Roth said. The tourism industry's largest, longest-running, and most representative survey on LGBT travel indicates growth opportunities for destinations and hotels to market themselves regionally for "staycations." The survey found tremendous growth in regional vacations over the past 12 months, but the growth was most pronounced to destinations that were drives of two to six hours away from home.

CMI, the San Francisco-based research firm, surveyed over 5,000 LGBT consumers about their past year travel patterns and future plans in its 14th Annual Gay & Lesbian Tourism Study. CMI will release the full results of the survey at the International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism, in Boston, which is running today through November 4th.



PRIDE Travel of Long Beach, California is a full service agency specializing in cruise, tour package, villa, and condo rentals. We also offer our community the full breadth of travel products and expertise. While we cater to the needs of Gays and Lesbians in the LGBTQ community, we are 'hetero friendly'™ and frequently book individuals, couples, and families with children on trips and vacations worldwide. Pride Travel is an award-winning agency that has been recognized for our active participation and contributions to our local and LGBTQ communities. We also hold numerous travel industry certifications and accreditations, as well as official certification by destination and country visitors' bureaus; we are active members and certified by the Travel Institute, the Cruise Line Industry Association, and the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. Original travel articles and content is contributed regularly and distributed at our blog, http://blog.pridetravelonline.com.

PRIDE Travel's media page can be located at http://www.expertclick.com/19-3675. For more details about our credentials, please visit our website at www.pridetravelonline.com and click on About Us or contact Mr. Marc R. Kassouf, Owner & CEO, at 562.432.3888 or via email at media2@pridetravelonline.com. Pride Travel, Mr. Kassouf and Mr. S. Nathan DePetris, Owner & COO, welcome your inquiries regarding interviews, speaking engagements, and other media collaboration.