Fort Lauderdale Named Top Travel Spot For LGBT Community
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Fort Lauderdale has been named the "Destination of the Year" by the 2014 ManAboutWorld Editors' Choice Awards, recognizing it as the top spot in gay travel.
The area has the highest concentration of same-sex couple households in the U.S. and it beat out worldwide competition for the title.
It is the home to the largest Pride Center, the world's first AIDS museum and the Stonewall Museum that's one of the only permanent spaces in the U.S. devoted to exhibitions relating to LGBT history and culture.
"Gay-popular since the 70s, Fort Lauderdale is still on the rise while other gay destinations are mainstreaming...with its white sand gay beach, 16 exclusively gay guesthouses (the most of any destination), and a nightlife scene that's busy seven nights a week," wrote ManAboutWorld's Editor Ed Salvato.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau spent $35,000 to create a dedicated LGBT ad campaign. It claims to be the first Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) with an LGBT-centric vacation planner.
"We have been out, proud and proactively welcoming LGBT visitors since 1995, and this recognition only further motivates us to keep on bringing more targeted LGBT events to our warm, welcoming and diverse destination," said Nicki E. Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, in a statement.
The digital magazine applauded the Greater Fort Lauderdale Bureau for setting industry standards and being the first CVB in the U.S. to support the repeal of its state's gay marriage ban.
The gay travel magazine also ranked other travel categories that best support and represent the LGBT community. Other awards included: gay neighborhood of the year, airline of the year, shopping destination of the year, best gay family trip and much more.
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