| Canadian money may be derided by U.S. customers unaccustomed to seeing blue and red alongside green, but there’s another colour that Canada excels at attracting: pink. Used to describe purchases made by the gay and lesbian community, pink dollars are being increasingly spent in Canada’s tourism industry, and locally there is nowhere more concerned with the influx of dollars, green or pink, than the Rocky Mountains.
JP Obbagy is the founder of Canmore-based Good Earth Travel Adventures, a luxury travel company that offers tours to the Rockies. Like many travel companies not targeted exclusively toward gay tourists, Good Earth has begun considering and cultivating the gay market because of its lucrative demographics.
"They’re almost the perfect client for what we do," says Obbagy, referring to the upscale nature of his company’s services. According to a 2006 annual survey of American gays and lesbians published by San Francisco-based Community Marketing, Inc., the median household income of U.S. respondents was $79,000 US, with the median respondent spending about $6,300 US on travel ($1,250 US per trip). And with cross-border traffic between Canada and the U.S. experiencing the hiccup of fresh passport restrictions, the report also found that 71 per cent of respondents held a valid passport, compared with only 27 per cent of the general U.S. population.
Obbagy estimates that 80 to 85 per cent of his client base is American, a fact that continues to drive cross-border traffic for gay and lesbian tourists. Coming for both the natural beauty of the mountain range and Canada’s progressive political policies – couples often arrange marriages while on vacation – cross-border gay tourists are a natural fit for the Canadian Rockies.
Locally, Banff Lake Louise Tourism, an association formed by 800 local hotels and businesses from Banff and Lake Louise, does not have any current programs aimed at gay tourists. Recently receiving an increased budget in the form of a two per cent "tourist improvement fee," the organization has opted for broader geographic marketing programs rather than aiming for "niche" markets. It’s a policy that Obbagy says often forces agencies to target the gay and lesbian market independently, such as Good Earth’s plans to add a gay-specific section on its website. "If they (Banff Lake Louise Tourism) don’t have a policy on (a specific market) it doesn’t create any new opportunities," he says. "So what that means for me as a business is that I have to chart my own course and my own channels and communication programs."
The association responds by pointing out that, even if it has not created programs specifically aimed at gay and lesbian tourists, both Banff and Lake Louise maintain an open atmosphere. "I don’t think there was any method or madness to it," says Banff Lake Louise Tourism sales director Kurt Schroeder. "The bottom line is that we want to see more people visit our destination, no matter where they come from, globally, or their persuasion. More is better."
Earning pink dollars, however, is often more difficult than simply resolving to maintain an open attitude. Savvy gay customers evaluate the policies of companies targeting gay tourists, determining whether companies’ hiring policies and even insurance coverage for long-term partners are in line with "gay friendly" claims. With 76 per cent of the Community Marketing survey’s respondents saying they would be more likely to select a location with a reputation for being gay-friendly, the truth of a gay-friendly claim is a fact on which the success of entire programs can depend.
"If you just throw a rainbow flag on there and call yourself gay-friendly and you don’t have the backup to prove it, there’ll be a problem," says Sean Kearns, president of Gay Whistler, a year-round promoter of Whistler, B.C. to the gay and lesbian community.
"Loyalty will prevail in the end," he adds, speaking of those companies willing to meaningfully address the specific needs of the gay community.
Gay Whistler, for example, is currently the de facto gay promoter for Whistler, though the tourism board’s website does feature a "gay-friendly" page. Promoting Whistler for the last five years, the group also produces PrideWeek, a weeklong festival that includes skiing and other events.
Last year, Whistler's regular gay ski week, Altitude, was unexpectedly cancelled just 12 days before the event. Stepping in, Kearns used his existing connections with local business people and ski hill operators to assist with accommodating 2,000 scheduled visitors.
For Whistler, at least, the process of establishing a relationship with the gay community has taken years. This year’s Pride Week is the 15th annual gay ski week, either under the Altitude or Prideweek banner. But the effect has been measurable: a town of less than 10,000, Whistler ranks number six on Community Marketing Inc.’s list of the top seven gay-friendly Canadian tourist destinations, surpassing Calgary, which is tied with Halifax at number seven.
In the Rockies, where the winter season’s green is at least as important as its white, the continuing success of the tourism industry depends on appealing to new, affluent demographics. With a combination of views both progressive and breathtaking, Canada, and the Rockies specifically, find themselves in a particularly enviable position.
"I think of all the places in the world that has the opportunity to grab hold of this opportunity, it’s Canada," says Kearns, himself an American citizen with a residence in Whistler. "The gay boys and the lesbians want to be able to enjoy nature but also head to the spa or the theatre or whatever, and that creates a winning mix." |
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