Of all the holiday destinations in Greece for gay travelers, the island of Mykonos is perhaps the most well-known. However, it seems that Mykonos is now being threatened by Vienna, which is also trying to attract more and more lesbian and gay tourists, as they are expected to remain more willing to spend on travel in relation to other cut-off wage-hit travelers.
Vienna’s city authorities released a review this month of the Austrian capital’s gay and lesbian tourism strategy, deciding to focus on travelers interested in music, culture and history – and with money to spend, VOA reports.
This review was actually a study among gay and lesbian travelers from outside of Vienna, whose average household’s monthly net income was 385 euros ($500) higher than that of other tourists to Vienna.
Marketing analyst from the Vienna Tourists Board, Clemens Koeltringer, stressed that this target group was “high profile, luxury customers who go to the opera and enjoy very good food”.
“Vienna is not a Mykonos, it must not be,” Koeltringer told Reuters, referring to the Greek party destination. “This is the main reason we are differentiating ourselves.”
According to an LGBT Travel Report for 2013 by marketing specialist Out Now Global, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leisure travel is expected to rise almost 10 percent to $181 billion.
Greece, Germany and Bulgaria as well, are among other destinations that seem to strongly support and promote gay tourism. In the case of Greece, Mykonos apart from being a marvelous island full of natural beauties, is additionally considered to be the most gay-friendly island of Greece, offering unparalleled nightlife and absolute entertainment.
As for the city of Vienna, it suggests gay and lesbian couples take walking tours in the Belvedere Palace, built by Prince Eugene of Savoy, a Habsburg general who historians widely agreed was gay, and the Vienna State Opera house, designed by two gay architects, one of whom committed suicide in 1868 after the building was criticized.
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