SC Jumped Shipped - More Like Missed The Boat

Witeck-Combs, a consulting firm that specializes in helping businesses tap into the gay and lesbian consumer market, said a survey showed gay travelers accounted for about $40 billion of the $461 billion spent worldwide by U.S. leisure travelers in 2006. According to the firm, gay travelers tend to stay longer at their destinations than other travelers and spend more money while they are there. Gays and lesbians also tend to travel more often than other tourists.

Tourism is South Carolina’s largest industry, employing about 200,000 people and bringing in about $10 billion a year from visitors. State tourism agency spokesman Marion Edmonds said the ad did not fit in with the state’s carefully calculated marketing and image plan and the employee who approved it should have known better.

Well, when considering where to travel this year and beyond, I hope GLBT travelers won’t have amnesia and remember where not to spend their money. It is imperative that now, more than ever, with human rights being a such a critical point, to support those who support the GLBT community.