Tag Archives: Gay Pride

June 14, 2013 · 1:09 pm

The Week in Travel (6/14/2013)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the  highlights:

NYPridephoto

*June is Gay Pride Month, with rainbow-themed festivities and parades all over the U.S.  For anyone who has ever wondered why these celebrations are still important, click through for your answer (via CNN).

*Save by booking your summer vacation on the first day of the season.  On June 21,”CyberSummer” offers 24-hour travel deals throughout the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, Latin America and South Africa (via CyberSummerTravel).

*As summer descends on NYC, its residents ascend to the city’s rooftops.  Raise your glass at an elevated bar (via Time Out) or shimmy up toward a gay rooftop party (via Next Magazine).

*Celebrate Father’s Day at a destination named for Papa (via AOL).

*Seventy-five years ago, Fascist Italy exiled homosexuals to the Tremiti Islands, creating both a prison regime and the country’s first gay community (via BBC News).

*Russian parliament confirms gay travel dollars are not welcomed in their country by unanimously passing an anti-gay bill that bans–among many other things–gay pride rallies (via Herald Sun).

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

(Photo via Policymic)

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August 24, 2012 · 10:03 am

The Week in Travel (8/24/12)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

Ruff Life

*New York City’s High Line, the park built atop an old elevated railway, has completely transformed the West Side of Manhattan, and not everyone is happy about it.  (via NY Times)

*Uganda, the African country known for its horrific “Kill the Gays Bill” that seeks to punish homosexuality with a death sentence, held its first ever gay pride parade with nearly a hundred people.   (via The New Yorker)

*Suffering from constipation during your travels?  Chew gum.  Nauseous?  Eat ginger.  (via NY Times)

*Run, fetch, poop, sleep:  It’s a dog’s life!  Fido deserves a vacation too.  (via Out Traveler)

*Stay ahead of the curve–quite literally–at this year’s best up-and-coming hotels.  (via Travel & Leisure)

*Americans eager to travel to Cuba may have to wait a little longer as the U.S. puts the breaks on “people to people” licenses.  (via USA Today)

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

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August 10, 2012 · 10:57 am

The Week in Travel (8/10/12)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao

*It’s a bird.  It’s a plane.  It’s a breaststroker.  Swimmers at the Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao can play peek-a-boo with passers-by on the street,  24 stories below.   The hotel’s glass-bottom, indoor pool protrudes from the main building and is suspended in mid-air. (via CNN)

*Like sands through the toes, so are the days of our summer.  Before the season ends, plan a trip to one of America’s 20 “awe-inspiring beaches.”  (via USA Today)

*Best Western gets better.  The hotel chain’s Premier brand is planning to open higher end properties in the U.S., Dominican Republic, Haiti, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nairobi and Oman this year.  (via USA Today)

*Hanoi gets happy.  The capital of Vietnam successfully holds the country’s first ever Gay Pride parade with dozens of cyclists displaying balloons and rainbow flags.  (via ABC News)

*What good is sitting alone in your room?…when Liza Minnelli and Alan Cumming are performing at the Cherry Grove Ice Palace.  In what may be considered the gayest event ever to occur in the history of the world, the duo took to the stage for a truly fabulous (I was there!), once-in-a-lifetime performance on Fire Island.  (via Out)

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

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July 31, 2012 · 10:29 am

IQ on Proud FM: Cologne, Germany

Cologne, Germany

Ivan Quintanilla is the featured travel expert on Toronto’s Proud FM Radio “Your Morning With Richard & Chris.”

Click on the link below to hear IQ and the boys talk about gay travel to Cologne, Germany:

Ivan Quintanilla on Proud FM-Cologne  (6 min.)

To learn more about Germany’s fourth largest city, and one of the its most popular gay destinations, read the IQ articles published on Travel Squire and Out Traveler.

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June 8, 2012 · 11:34 am

The Week in Travel (6/8/12)

The world of travel moves fast!   Let’s keep up–together.   On Fridays,  Traveling IQ curates the highlights from the past week:

The Berkeley in London

*Get in touch with your inner Esther Williams this summer.  The Berkeley hotel in London is offering 90-minute synchronized swimming classes through August 29. (via New York Times)

*Train with Russian cosmonauts.  A Seattle-based tour group is taking 20 travelers to Russia to view the manned launch of the Soyuz spacecraft en route to the International Space Station.  Add-ons include cosmonaut training sessions and zero-gravity flights. (via USA Today)

*This year you have more opportunities than ever to be gay and proud.  The International Gay Pride Calendar guides you toward the festivities all over the world.  (via Passport Magazine)

*Size Queen… or King… or Full.  A new crop of NYC hotels are offering tiny, but well-designed “affordable luxury.” (via New York Times)

*Are you having Downton Abbey withdrawal? Highclere Castle, where the critically acclaimed drama is filmed, is now open for tours Sunday through Thursday. (via MSNBC)

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

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June 6, 2012 · 9:00 am

Lords Pops Big Apple

Lords South Beach celebrates NY Pride, polar bear and all

The Lords South Beach is making a colorful splash on New York’s Lower East Side this gay pride.  From June 18-24, Miami’s gay boutique hotel will invade the Hotel on Rivington, creating New York City’s first ever Pride pop-up hotel:  Lords New York.

And pop it will.  The Lords New York will feature a hot pink lobby, a New York version of the Lords South Beach beloved polar bear sculpture, and pop art portraits of Elizabeth Taylor (who watches over guests in every room of the Miami property).

The Lords New York is also bringing the party up north.  The Lords Penthouse series will occupy the Owner’s Suite of the Hotel on Rivington to host “Proud to Party”–a fetish beach party–with DJ Vito Fun on Friday, June 22.  The next morning, the hotel joins OUT Magazine in hosting the “Proud to be Creative” brunch at the hotel’s CO-OP restaurant with food, drink, music, and a special art installation.

The Lords New York at the Hotel on Rivington LGBT Pride Package Includes:

  • 15% Savings off the Best Available Rates
  • Exclusive access to the “Proud to Party” event on Fri., June 22nd
  • 2 welcome cocktails in CO-OP Food & Drink
  • Lords New York welcome gift bag
  • Priority reservations to the “Proud to be Creative” Brunch on Sat., June 23rd

Want to make more of an impact on our community?   Put your money where your pride is.  The Lords is introducing a New York version of its “Rooms that Matter” program.  Upon check-in, guests can choose to donate $10 to either the Aqua Foundation or Hetrick-Martin Institute. Last year, a similar Lords South Beach program raised over $10,000 for designated LGBT charities.

For more information on all the events or to book your reservation, visit LordsNY.com.

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May 4, 2012 · 11:00 am

The Week in Travel (5/4/12)

Photo courtesy of Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum, Amsterdam

The world of travel moves fast!  Let’s keep up, together.  Today, Traveling IQ launches the first installment of “The Week in Travel” series, featuring noteworthy travel stories from the past week:

*LGA is the bottom!  Sorry New York, but La Guardia has been ranked “America’s Worst Airport” by Travel & Leisure readers.  Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) has been crowned the top. (via Travel & Leisure)

*Dude, where’s my Amsterdam?  A Dutch court has upheld the ban on selling marijuana to tourists.  The proposed members-only “weed pass”, which limits the sale of marijuana to Dutch residents over age 18, is potentially rolling out  Jan. 1, 2013. (via USA Today)

*The ship of dreams (again?!).  Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself:  An Australian billionaire is planning to build a modern-day replica of the Titanic.  The maiden voyage is being planned for 2016 and will follow the same route as the original, from England to New York.  (via USA Today)

*In gay news, the NYC Pier Dance is moving indoors.  One of the most popular New York City Pride events, the Dance on the Pier, which has traditionally been held outdoors on Pier 54 is moving to the covered Pier 57.  Pier 54 has been deemed structurally unsound.  (via Next Magazine)

*In China, it really is a small world after all.  Now, you can walk from Britain to Spain and never leave Shanghai, where themed housing developments  are replicating famous cities from around the world.  (via Weird Asia News)

What did I miss?  Share your favorite travel news in the comments below or by posting on the Traveling IQ Facebook page.

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April 10, 2012 · 11:39 am

Miami Beach Gay Pride Photos

One of the earliest, hottest, and most diverse Pride celebrations kicks off the season this weekend with the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on Sunday, April 15.

The weekend is packed with block parties, dance parties and pool parties as only Miami can offer.  For all events and information visit MiamiBeachGayPride.com

And to get you in the mood, here’s a photo tour of last year’s festivities:

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January 24, 2012 · 7:00 am

South Africa’s Wild Side(s)

There is wild and then there is wild.  From February 27 to March 4, Extraordinary Journeys Africa, the organizers of luxury, customized safaris on the continent, will help you unleash a bit of both by living the wild life at Cape Town Gay Pride and viewing the wildlife at the Madikwe Game Reserve.

The tour begins with four nights at the gay-owned, boutique hotel, Kensington Place, just steps from the party-popular Kloof Street.  From here guests can experience Cape Town’s nightlife and Gay Pride events, as well as trips to Robben Island, the 4,000 year old prison now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, sea kayaking with African Penguins, and a cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain.

Your adventure continues via chartered flight to Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge for a three-night stay.  The luxurious (and also gay-owned) lodge consists of only five villas, each with its own splash pool for ultimate privacy.  While in Madikwe you’ll have access to elephants, lions, monkeys and more than 300 square miles of game viewing in South Africa’s newest reserve.

A leader in luxury safaris, Extraordinary Journeys Africa has specifically designed this 8-day-tour to explore the unique contrasts of South Africa… because there is fierce and then there’s fierce!

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December 21, 2011 · 9:18 am

Gay & Lesbian Tourism Report

How does the gay community travel?  Last week, Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI) released the results of their 16th Annual Gay & Lesbian Tourism Report, compiled from polling over 10,000 self-identified gay and lesbian consumers.  The company estimates the annual economic impact of LGBT travelers is, in the United States alone, over $65 billion per year.

Here are some of their key findings for North American LGBT travelers:

  • Overall, the LGBT community has increased their travel in the last year, compared to the year before. Most destinations surveyed increased LGBT travel by 1 to 3% in the past year. This is in contrast to the last two years, which saw a decrease in LGBT travel due to the global economic recession.
  • CMI’s annual destination rankings did not see much change from the previous year. However some cities did see a more significant increase. New York City has always been the number one LGBT destination in the USA and the city has slightly increased its lead. New Orleans continues to gain visitors and is approaching pre-Katrina rankings. Miami continues to trend upwards and has jumped back into the top ten for USA destinations on the survey.
  • New York City scored #1 in all three key indicators; actual visits to the destination in the past 12 months, most gay-friendly destination in the world and personal favorite destination. Las Vegas, San Francisco and London also scored well in all three indicators.
  • Considering their size and number of hotel rooms, Provincetown, Key West and Palm Springs scored extremely well in all three indicators. If you would analyze the data by number of hotel rooms in a destination, these three destinations would be the most popular in the United States.
  • LGBT travelers, and especially gay men, are much more likely to describe themselves as “urban core travelers” than “eco travelers” or “outdoor adventure travelers.”
  • Survey results suggest the mid-range market is the biggest group among LGBT travelers, followed by economy/budget, and then luxury.
  • The LGBT economy/budget market is larger than many people assume. More LGBT travelers consider themselves to be economy/budget travelers than luxury travelers, indicating an opportunity for every tier of travel marketers.
  • Once gay men or lesbians have children, family-friendly travel preferences become more important than LGBT-friendly travel preferences by a 2-1 margin.
  • Attending LGBT events are key motivators within the LGBT community, generating a high number of hotel nights.  On average, gay men and lesbians spend three nights in a destination when traveling for an event.
  • “Gay Pride” is still a significant travel motivator for LGBTs under 35.  The younger generation is more likely to travel to another city for Pride than their older LGBT counterparts.
  • Results indicate that gay men and lesbians are more likely to avoid a destination because of recent LGBT violence than anti-LGBT laws.

Download the entire 16th Annual Gay & Lesbian Tourism Report from the CMI website.

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