San Fran most gay-friendly

San Francisco was named the top “gay-friendly” destination in a new survey of gay travelers conducted by the Travel Industry Association.

Following San Francisco on the list’s top 10 were Key West, Fla.; New York City; Fire Island, which is part of Long Island in New York; Provincetown, Mass.; Los Angeles; Miami-South Beach, Fla.; Las Vegas; New Orleans, and Palm Springs-Palm Desert, Calif.

The national survey was conducted by the Travel Industry Association in partnership with Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications.

Nearly half of gay and lesbian travelers said that whether a destination has a “gay-friendly” reputation matters when they are making leisure travel choices.

A place where “they can hold their partner’s hand in public” without fear of harassment was cited as an example of something that more than half of gay men and more than two-thirds of gay women look for when they are choosing a destination, according to the survey.

The survey showed that gay and lesbian travelers are not looking for special treatment, but are simply “expecting consideration and equal respect given all customers,” said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs/

Four out of 10 gay and lesbian travelers also said they consider a destination gay-friendly if it “is known to be culturally welcoming and to support diversity” and gay rights.

Only a third of gay men and 18% of lesbians cited “gay nightlife, gay clubs and bars” among their top considerations for gay friendliness.

The national online survey was conducted among 2,020 self-identified gay travelers 21 and older who have taken at least one leisure trip within the past 12 months.

Report by David Wilkening