Bear Week 2015 By Drone

Interesting dig at the Boatslip at the end.

UPDATE: The video has been pulled already. Hmm.

UPDATE II: And it's back.

Morning View - Provincetown

Afternoon View - Provincetown

The best lobster roll in town.

Louisville Welcomes Marriage Tourism

Via the Louisville Courier-Dispatch:

On the heels of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in support of marriage equality, Louisville tourism officials are embarking on a marketing campaign encouraging LGBT couples to get married in Louisville. The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau started the campaign earlier this week with a series of digital ads across social media promoting the slogan, “Say I Do in Lou.” It focuses on Louisville as a welcoming wedding destination, without regard to gender. The Louisville bureau formed a task force in March to see if it can attract tourism-related business involving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The group includes representatives of local attractions and accommodations as well as members of the Kentuckiana Pride Foundation, the Louisville Fairness Campaign and Louisville Metro Government.

More from Insider Louisville:

The campaign will culminate with an all-expenses paid weekend getaway (or staycation, should the winners be Louisvillians) and wedding for one lucky LGBT couple. The CVB is currently working to line up sponsors for the wedding. “We want to do this campaign to welcome LGBT couples that can now get married,” she says. “Now they can come to Louisville to do it.” The wedding festivities will take place the weekend of Sept. 18-20, with the ceremony on Sept. 19. The reception will be held at the inaugural Louisville Pride Festival, also Sept. 19, and the CVB is calling this, tongue-in-cheek, the “World’s Largest LGBT Wedding Reception.” Louisville advertising firm Red7e created the digital and social media ads, all of which were done in short order given it’s been just a few weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. “We wanted to follow on the heels of the excitement,” Ritchie says.

Say "I do" in Louisville. But not in Rowan County. Or Casey County.

Afternoon View - Provincetown

Las Vegas Hot Pants At Los Angeles Pride

In an unusual promotion, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority posted the above billboard at Los Angeles Pride yesterday, where attendees were invited to snag rainbow-hued metallic hot pants. The shorts, of course, were branded with the Las Vegas logo. Judging by later photos, it appears that the red and purple shorts went first and the yellow ones went last.

MINNESOTA: Tourism Ad Stars Gay Dads

Via City Pages:

The Twin Cities has a reputation for being a gay-friendly place. Same-sex marriage is legal, Minneapolis was once dubbed the "gayest city in America," and our Pride parade is arguably Minnesota's greatest get-together. Now a new ad from Minnesota's tourism arm is subtly putting out more inclusive vibes. For the first time, one of Explore Minnesota's TV commercials prominently features a gay couple. Studly husbands (uggos still aren't allowed on TV) Ben Meents and Chet Ritchie appear to be having a gay old time, touring breweries, attending Rock the Garden, zip-lining, and, oh hey, driving a tank. Basically, they're doing things any couple way cooler than you would on vacation. "We're just wanting to show off how inclusive we are and our state is," Explore Minnesota spokeswoman Alyssa Ebel says.

The couple's 13 year-old daughter, who doesn't appear in the clip, has written an op-ed about the ad for the Advocate.

Indianapolis: All Are Welcome

A couple of days ago Indianapolis updated its main official tourism site with the above message. That move coincided with GOP Mayor Greg Ballard's signing of an executive order reaffirming that any business that contracts with the city must abide by its pro-LGBT human rights ordinance. (Tipped by JMG reader Eddie)

CHERRY GROVE: Fire Destroys Two Hotels, Gay Nightclub, And Several Residences

A massive fire swept through Cherry Grove's commercial district on Fire Island last night, destroying several private homes, the Holly House Hotel, and the Grove Hotel, the last of which was home to the famed Ice Palace nightclub. For decades the Ice Palace hosted the Miss Fire Island pageant and served as the kickoff location for the annual Fire Island Pines Drag Invasion. Local authorities say that the source of the blaze, which reportedly broke out on the nearby boardwalk, is unknown. About 80 firefighters were on the scene and two suffered injuries, but no residents were hurt, possibly because most of Fire Island is unoccupied at this time of year. Last night's fire was yet another in a recent string of disasters to strike Fire Island's two predominantly gay towns. The commercial district of neighboring Fire Island Pines was destroyed in a 2011 fire and both towns were flooded during 2012's Hurricane Sandy.

(Via Towleroad)

UPDATE: Contrary to the above-linked Newsday report that the Grove Hotel is a "complete loss," this news item says the Ice Palace nightclub portion of the complex suffered only minor damage.

Tampa To Pitch For Marriage Tourism

As the date for same-sex marriage nears, Tampa's tourism authority is prepping a national ad campaign to lure honeymoon business.

Earlier this week, a federal appeals court ruled that a stay in the state's ban on same-sex nuptials will be lifted Jan. 5 because of the ban's unconstitutionality. If that holds up, Visit Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County's nonprofit tourism branch, would "almost immediately" court betrothed-minded LGBT folks with its glossy new "To Have and To Hold" blitz. There will be matrimonial-specific print ads in the Northeast, the Middle Atlantic, Ohio and Texas; digital ads in Chicago and Dallas; and conquerwithpride.com, a microsite listing local events, hotels and services. "We've had this campaign ready for a while," Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, said on the phone from Chile, where he was trumpeting the joys of the bay area to South American executives. This ad campaign — its subtitle is "Our Treasures Are Yours" — adds yet another selling point for the gay community to drop vacation dollars in Tampa Bay. Not only is St. Pete Pride — scheduled for June 26 to 28 — one of the biggest LGBT celebrations in the eastern United States, with more than 100,000 revelers last year, but now Tampa will fire up the party machine March 28 at Pride Parade & Festival in Ybor City.

The tourism and convention bureaus of Fort Lauderdale and Key West have long advertised for LGBT business.

Virginia Goes For LGBT Tourists

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe yesterday announced that his state has formed a task force to pursue LGBT tourism.

Speaking to a crowd of 400 tourism industry professionals, McAuliffe said the creation of the task force continues upon his campaign theme of openness and equality for all Virginians. “I've been very vocal on the topic,” McAuliffe told the Times-Mirror. “As I mentioned, I came right out on day one and did an executive order on adoption, and I'm really promoting the causes to make sure that Virginia is open and welcoming.” The LGBT community spends as much as $100 billion annually on travel, McAuliffe said. The governor's 20-minute address focused on the broad impact the $21.5 billion tourism industry has on Virginia's economy, employing more than 213,000 people and returning $5 in revenue for every $1 in investment, according to the Virginia Tourism Corp. “Tourism plays an important role in attaining that goal, building communities, and helping drive the new Virginia economy,” McAuliffe said. “We have an opportunity to build upon the progress Virginia made this year in achieving marriage equality and ensure that visitors across the globe know that the commonwealth is open and welcoming to all.”

(Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Las Vegas Celebrates Marriage Equality With Full-Page Ad In USA Today

Uganda Tourism Board: Gays Are Welcome

An unlikely headline via Gay Star News:

The Ugandan Tourism Board (UTB) recently met with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) to try to restore the country's reputation among both gay and straight tourists. John Tanzella, president and CEO of IGLTA, told the SoSoGay website that the board felt Western media had portrayed Uganda in a particularly negative light since the country passed a law that would punish gay sex with life imprisonment in December last year. The law was struck down last month. Tanzella said, "The delegation said that gay people are welcome. They were very concerned about the perception of Uganda in Western Europe and North America, and claimed that the backlash caught them by surprise. No-one thought it would pass. The delegates all pointed out that they have friends and family who are gay." He said Uganda was a long way off from joining IGLTA and first would have to go through a "process of education."

I wouldn't expect a rush of bookings.

Germany Pitches For LGBT Tourism

Germany's National Tourism Office has launched a new website in support of LGBT tourism. Via Gay Times:

The country that gave us Adidas, Einstein and World Cup winning super-stud, Mario Gotze (move over Beckham) has now published the perfect resource to plan your next trip to Germany, and it’s all tailored exclusively with LGBT visitors in mind. That doesn’t mean that this new website is all about pride events, parties and bars though. Of course there is some really useful information on the LGBT scene in Germany’s five largest cities — Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne, as well as details of the major LGBT festivals and events that take place across the country. But there is also information on Germany’s buzzing art landscape, cutting-edge architecture, latest design trends as well as what’s happening right now on the German fashion scene too.

At Provincetown's Carnival Week

From JMG reader Rob, who blogs here.

Open Thread Thursday

Tell us about your favorite summer getaway.

Philly's Phillyosophy: More LGBT Tourism

Visit Philly has launched a new print and television campaign that reaches out to LGBT tourists. From the clip: "We love neighborhoods and gayborhoods."

Gay Cruise Company Boycotts Russia

From the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News:

Tuesday night, Atlantis CEO Rich Campbell outlined the new cruises in store for 2014, including the return of the popular Baltic European cruise. This time, however, one port of call that had always been included in the past was pointedly excluded for the 2014 cruise: St. Petersburg, Russia. Campbell said that while the people of St. Petersburg were always friendly and welcoming to us in the past, and that the immense cultural attractions made it an obvious port of call under normal circumstances for any Baltic cruise ... these were no longer normal circumstances. The hostile anti-gay attitude of the current Putin regime has made Russia an unacceptable destination for a gay cruise, and he expressed hope that the economic effect of the decision would in some small way help to bring about change in the current sad state of affairs there. The crowd of veteran Atlantis cruisers at the reception responded to the announcement with cheers and applause.

Good for them. But a check of the upcoming Caribbean cruise by Atlantis Events reveals that they will be making a port call in Barbados, where homosexuality is technically punishable by life in prison, although Wikipedia notes that the law is "rarely enforced." The Caribbean cruise will also stop in St. Lucia, where homosexual acts between males are punishable by ten years in prison. At least in Russia homosexuality itself is not illegal. Yet.

Press Release Of The Day

From the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau:

It’s not the size of the city that matters, with Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Wilton Manors beating worldwide competition to be named “Gayborhood of the Year” in the 2013 ManAboutWorld Editors’ Choice Awards. At the same time, the destination was recently cited to be the city with the highest concentration of same-sex couple households by the U.S. Census, edging out traditional frontrunner San Francisco and recent newcomer Seattle.  In the beating heart of Greater Fort Lauderdale, the vibrant community of Wilton Manors, known as “Island City” due to the winding waterways that flow through the city, was praised by ManAboutWorld as a “triumph over assimilation.” Wilton Manors continues to evolve and features the largest Pride Center and a soon to open World Aids Museum and Educational Center, the only museum dedicated to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

"Triumph over assimilation." That's an...interesting way to put it. The press release goes to list a couple of dozen gay bars and restaurants in Wilton Manors.

I'm In Cleveland

I'm in Cleveland for four days as part of a press junket sponsored by Positively Cleveland, the marketing agency for the local convention and visitors bureau. We're primarily here as part of Cleveland's push for the Gay Games 2014, which runs next year from August 9th -16th and is expected to draw 11,000 athletes from around the world. There's a ton of stuff on our itinerary, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Horseshoe Casino, museums, and lots of interesting looking restaurants. On Saturday night they have us finishing our evening at a club called Bounce, so we might do a JMG readers meet-up there. (More on that tomorrow.) Full disclosure: The agency is footing the bill for our airfare, lodging, meals, excursions, hookers, blow - the whole shebang. Fuller disclosure: I'm completely open to similar offers from the cities of Rio, Barcelona, Puerto Vallarta....