Tourism officials are looking for a way to cash in on the growing gay wedding industry by making Las Vegas a honeymoon destination for same-sex couples.
The Las Vegas Sun reported Thursday that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's director of diversity marketing has already discussed the possibility with his staff.
Gay marriage is illegal in Nevada, but more states are allowing same-sex weddings, with New York becoming the latest.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia also allow gay marriage.
Las Vegas is widely recognized as a wedding destination because of the relative ease in obtaining a marriage license.
The visitors authority estimates that 83,000 room nights have been booked in Las Vegas by gay couples this year, Reyes said, resulting in $10.7 million in revenue given average rates.
Besides rooms, gay travelers are estimated to spend $25.9 million in Sin City.
Thomas Roth of Community Marketing Inc., a San Francisco-based firm that specializes in reaching gay consumers, said companies need to make sure they're gay-friendly to employees before reaching gay customers.
"You need to do the 'inreach' before you do the outreach," he said. "The community isn't going to be fooled. They know that tourist destinations are going to be inviting, but it gets around if the workplace doesn't have gay-friendly policies."
Reyes said several Las Vegas casino companies specifically market to gay travelers, including MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts, Ltd., Caesars Entertainment Corp. and the Tropicana Las Vegas.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Vegas-officials-consider-marketing-gay-honeymoons-1447170.php#ixzz1QrlrLuly
