Monthly Archives: January 2010
Gay US Tourists Lured to Brighton England
Brighton and Hove City Council
is teaming up with Visit Britain to be featured in gay advertising campaign and a website.
As an island nation, Britain has always had a love affair with water, and nowhere is this more evident than in the beautiful city of Brighton. Dubbed ‘Soho by the Sea’ it has been a flamboyant and extravagant destination ever since the Prince Regent decided to make it his home away from home in 1823 and is today Britain’s second largest gay community.
The council’s tourism arm says it wants the city to retain its status as the UK’s prime lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) destination.
Councillor David Smith said: “Being part of this campaign places us firmly on the international LGBT travel map.”
The council says research on the LGBT market in the US shows gay and lesbian travellers are planning more overseas trips in the coming three years.
According to the research, the UK tops the list of potential destinations, with Brighton often seen as part of a two-centre holiday combined with London.
Mr Smith added: “We’re constantly looking for ways to grow new markets for the city.
“We have a brilliant LGBT scene in terms of entertainment, culture and venues.
“The council is doing all it can to help those businesses thrive and the visitors to have a good time.”
The City of Brighton & Hove acts as a magnet for lesbians and gay men from all over the world attracted to its bohemian atmosphere, open minded attitudes and raffish air. Brighton has now long been known as Britain’s number one gay resort.
Kemptown is known as the ‘gay village’ and has a thriving and diverse scene ranging from leather workshops, pink parlours, and techno clubs, to specialist boutiques, hotels, estate agents and kickboxing classes.
Brighton’s LGBT Pride festival will mark its 18th year this year.
Visit Brighton Britain
The Best Gay Travel Guide
Gay Destinations and Gay Travel – to Ireland
Ireland has been a popular destination for gay vacations at least since the time of Oscar Wilde, although in those days it was not necessarily a friendly country for the LGBT community. Like Wilde, many people were jailed or sent away for hard labor for what was legally termed “indecency” and, until 1861, acts of sodomy were even punishable by death, but Ireland has come a long way since these dark days, decriminalizing same-sex sexual behavior in 1993 and legalizing civil unions in 2009.
While these significant legal strides might not mean that every village – or even every larger city – is ready to fully embrace same-sex relationships, Ireland has become a rather welcoming country for the most part and is a wonderful choice for gay travel. Many larger cities, such as Galway, Dublin, Cork and Waterford, have active, visible communities, LGBT-owned and LGBT-friendly establishments, and enough attractions and activities to fill an entire trip; however, whether you travel to Ireland solo or with organized gay tours, you will not want to miss the beautiful Irish countryside or the quaint, small villages that are scattered about the landscape or overlooking awe-inspiring coastal cliffs.
Although many cities in Ireland now have community hangouts, organizations, annual community celebrations and an active LGBT community, Dublin reigns supreme as the center of Ireland’s LGBT scene, making it a must-do for anyone planning gay travel here. Dublin’s nightlife is a blend of both casual pubs and high-class clubs – some even with dress codes – which offers folks on gay vacations the opportunity to experience vastly different aspects of the local community.
Dublin is also well known for a variety of community festivals held throughout the year, which include the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in May, Dublin International LGBTQ Pride in June, and the Dublin Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in July.
There is always something going on in Dublin, on either a small or large scale, so it is a good idea to pick up a copy of GNC, Ireland’s main community magazine, when you arrive in town. There are many must-see attractions when partaking in gay travel in Dublin, including the Guinness Storehouse, the Old Jameson Distillery, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Book of Kells, the Oscar Wilde House Museum and Dublin’s quintessential LGBT bar, The George.
Those planning Ireland gay tours may want to consider participating in gay tours. This is a great way to make sure you are able to enjoy many of the most intriguing natural, cultural and historical attractions this romantic country has to offer.
Thoughts on Ireland authored by Howie Holben.
Spirit Journeys focuses on gay spirituality and has resources to assist on spiritual journeys.
Michael Lucas Will Be Your Gay Travel Guide to Tel Aviv
Michael Lucas
is about to add tour guide to his resume – the head of Lucas Entertainment announced on his website that he is going to start taking groups of tourists to Israel.
Lucas writes: “It is no secret that Israel is one of my favorite places in the entire world, and I travel there at least twice every year to visit my favorite parties, restaurants, historical monuments, beaches, resorts, and most importantly, all of the close friends and wonderful people I have met throughout the course of my travels. What I love about Israel is that it is extremely modern while maintaining such an amazing and diverse sense of history: You can be in urban Tel Aviv, one of the most gay-friendly cities on earth, surrounded by skyscrapers, and then drive 40 minutes to ancient Jerusalem and see craftsmanship and architecture that is over 2,000 years old. It is incredible!
Although I am uncut, I’m 100 percent Jewish. I was born to a Jewish mother and a Jewish Father (his name is Bregman—can’t get more Jewish that). I’ve been exposed to anti-Semitism in Russia, and so, I’ve always had a warm place for Israel in my heart (and groin, have you ever seen those Israeli men?). It makes me happy to think it has a warm place in its heart for me.”
Lucas promises this will not be your typical tourist’s look at Israel – evidenced by his description of the tour’s planned trip to Gaash Beach. “This is the premiere clothing-optional beach in Tel-Aviv known only to insiders. You can feel free to lie in the sun as nude as you’d like, enjoy the ocean, or feel free to watch any number of hot guys have sex up and down the shore! I have traveled all around the world and never encountered a beach like this one.”
Two packages available to choose from.
There is now a 9 day tour for $2755 and also a 12 day tour for $3790.
Launching the end of May 2010, the inaugural two-week tour brings visitors on an extensive journey through the breathtaking nation of Israel, personally accompanied by Michael Lucas. Lucas has partnered with top experts in the Israeli tourism industry to contract the best amenities for the trip, including licensed guides and luxury hotels. The premiere group will visit notable historic sites, numerous restaurants, beaches, and resorts, along with several other locations that provide for the experience of a lifetime.
Best Gay Travel Guide
Gayest Gay Cities in the United States
According to a study by the Advocate this month,
1. Atlanta, Georgia
2. Burlington, Vermont
3. Iowa City, Iowa
4. Bloomington, Indiana
5. Madison, Wisconsin
6. New Orleans, Louisiana
7. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
8. Portland, Maine
9. Austin, Texas
10. Seattle, Washington
11. Gainsville, Florida
12. Ashville, North Carolina
13. Springfield, Massachusetts
14. San Diego, California
15. Albuquerque, New Mexico
The cities were ranked by:
-Same-sex couple households per capita
-Statewide marriage equality
-Gay elected officials
-Gay dating and hookup profiles per single male population
-Gay bars per capita
-Cruising spots per capita
-and Gay films in Netflix favorites.
Kind of shocking, right?!
Gay Travel Survey – Gay Travelers Prefer to Stay in Gay Owned and Operated Hotels
We do have some gay friends that would rather choose a 4 or 5 star straight hotel, over gay accomodations.
Pink Choice , one of the largest and most trusted websites for gay and lesbian hotel reviews, today announced results from its first annual Gay and Lesbian Travel Survey. The results shed some light on the health and direction of gay travel in 2009 and going into 2010. Over 500 individuals completed the survey.
The Economy is Impacting Gay Travel
Fifty-six percent of respondents said that the current economy had affected their travel plans and that they would be spending less on travel than in previous years. However, 63% said that they had not needed to shorten their vacations and 54% had already booked their trips for 2010. “The gay travel market has been impacted by the bad economy but people are still traveling. They may be looking to spend a bit less but as the results show, many are already booking for 2010,” said Stephen Mascilo, a co-founder of Pink Choice.
Gay Travelers Prefer Staying in Gay Owned Establishments
Seventy-one percent of respondents preferred to stay in an accommodation that was gay/lesbian owned and operated. That’s not surprising but over 50% indicated they weren’t bothered one way or the other. “We were surprised that over 50% of the respondents said they would be comfortable staying in a non gay owned establishment. It might reflect society’s changing attitudes towards gay and lesbian travelers,” said Stephen. Future surveys will examine this question further.
Price is the Main Factor for Choosing Travel Arrangements
When it comes to travel arrangements, less than 15% of members said they choose an airline specifically because of its GLBT policy. Based on this data, airlines that have spent time and money promoting gay friendly flights may not see much return. Over 50% said ticket price was a major deciding factor and 35% based their decision on flight schedules.
Homophobia on the Rise in South Beach…Gay Fort Lauderdale Continues to Flourish
BEACH
is the neighborhood that encompasses about 25 blocks in the city of Miami Beach.
In the 1920’s-1930’s South Beach brought Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Nautical Moderne architecture to the Beach. During the 1970’s-1980’s the area was used as a retirement community with most of its ocean-front hotels and apartment buildings filled with elderly people living on small, fixed incomes.
This period also saw the introduction of the “cocaine cowboys,” drug dealers who used the area as a base for their illicit drug activities. Scarface and even Miami Vice , typified this activity. The town became very run down and there were vacant and boarded up buildings everywhere.
So what happens? Gays cleaned it up. In the late 1980s, a renaissance began in South Beach, with an influx of “fashion industry professionals” moving into the area. South Beach started to become “fabulous” and gay clubs sprouted up everywhere.
It became this extremely popular entertainment mecca, thanks to the media. By the mid 1990’s, the rest of the straight world started to capitalize on this small area. More and more big straight clubs popped up and by the late 2000, many from Miami proper would come over and drink and cause trouble. We call that the “bridge and tunnel crowd”. When suburbanites come in and start taking over “our towns”. It’s no longer fun at that point.
Gianni Versace was murdered in 1997. I really view that as a turning point. Within a couple years, South Beach was changing. And not in a good way. I was last there in 2004 for the famous Winter Party, which attracts several thousand gay people. Even with that many gays in town, my partner and I DID NOT feel safe walking the streets at night. Straight kids in cars drove past and yelled “faggots” at us and one car even hurled a bottle at us. We walked in somewhere for a slice of pizza late night and straight teenagers mumbled “gay this” and “fag that” under their breath, but loud enough to hear. We were told by locals at that time, that many gays are starting to relocate to Fort Lauderdale. I have not been back to South Beach since.
It has just gotten worse in the last 5 years as the area has become a late night drinking straight town. This month in the news, gay bashings are on the rise there. State of Florida records stated that 75% of the anti-homosexual hate crimes in Miami-Dade County in 2009 occurred in South Beach/Miami Beach. It’s still chic and expensive there. Major developers have invested billions there. But the gays are getting out.
“South Beach isn’t the free-spirited haven of gayness it once was.” says writer Natalie O’Neill from Miami New Times.
Tony Lopez was celebrating the White Party this past November. Another huge gay event which brings thousands into the town. It was 4am and he wandered into a popular place for some take-out food. As he approached the line for food, an aggressive 20-something staggered up to him.
“Got a cigarette?” he asked. Tony shook a Marlboro Mild from the pack and handed him one.
Right then, a gang — Tony remembers four men — “appeared out of the woodwork.” They shoved him into the alley behind the restaurant, yelled “Fucking faggot!” and began to punch him. He fell to the ground and tried to shield his head as they kicked him in the face.
(Fort Lauderdale below)
O’Neill reports, “In a five-year span, the State Attorney’s Office reported 26 incidents, half of which were in Miami Beach. Victims include a lounge singer who was stripped naked and hogtied and a magazine publisher who was viciously beaten.
It’s surprising when you consider South Beach’s heyday as a sparkling gay playground, where oiled-up boys frolicked between wild foam parties and the hub of hedonism that was the Versace mansion. Nobody thought twice about casual sex in Flamingo Park or flamboyant public fashion shoots, and — at its peak — MTV was even there to glamorize it all.” – which really became the downfall of South Beach. It was a “kept secret” for a while but once it became celebritized by the rich and famous and sensationalized by television and film, it was no longer a secret!
I am not saying don’t go to South Beach. There are still fun clubs and fun parties there.
But YOU MUST BE CAREFUL. Walk in groups and not alone. Especially at night, when most of the trouble starts.
Gay Fort Lauderdale has been a haven for gay and lesbian travelers for decades. But in the last 5 years, it has seen tremendous growth as South Beach shifted. In addition to being a very gay friendly city , Fort Lauderdale has more than 100 gay-owned establishments including hotels/guesthouses, bars, clubs and restaurants, plus the second largest Metropolitan Community Church congregation in the United States and three gay and lesbian publications. Gay Ft. Lauderdale has three popular gay beach areas on Fort Lauderdale’s 23 miles of wide, sandy beach.
Fort Lauderdale continues to reign supreme as one of the most popular gay destinations in North America.
Read more on SoBe from Natalie O’Neill.
Visit Fort Lauderdale Sunny.org info Get a Free Fort Lauderdale calendar/planner!
The Best Gay Travel Guide
Gay Vacations…Gay Retreats…to Belize and Egypt!
A friend asked me recently, “Why would anyone want to go on a gay retreat? That sounds like work!”
So I asked Howie Holben from Spirit Journeys to elaborate on his gay retreats…
” We are frequently asked if our gay travel retreats or gay vacations are “fun”. There are two basic answers to this question.
First, there seems to be the conception that taking a “spiritual journey” (whatever that means to you) is “work”. Nobody wants to work on a vacation! That’s why we take a vacation in the first place, to get “away from it all” for awhile, to escape. We seem to frame the concepts of spiritual and personal growth with thoughts like: “I need to do this” or “I should do that” because “it would be good for me”. With those ideas as a background, it’s no wonder that so many of us think of spiritual and personal growth as “work”. When we’re on a vacation, we want to leave all the “need to’s” and “should’s” of daily life behind us, for at least a short time.
Second, somewhere along the way, we seem to have been taught that in order to be spiritually connected to the world, the people around us and to ourselves, we must act in a “serious manner”, almost to the point of being somber, or at the very least solemn. Somehow we’ve come to believe that laughter and play are “irreverent”.
In actuality, I have found just the opposite to be true. When I am awake and aware of my surroundings, in other words “spiritually” connected, my experiences are amplified and intensified. I am able to experience more of the world around me and experience it at a deeper level. I have found that this amplified experience actually makes my adventures more “fun” because all aspects of my travel are intensified; I can play more, I can laugh more, I can relax more fully and I can even shop more!
Little children are a wonderful example of this. They are enthralled with the world around them; everything is new, everything is a wonder. Discovering and learning new things is not “work” to a child. They find joy in all that they encounter; everything is a new toy to play with.
Also, sometimes people confuse the experience of being awestruck as being serious or solemn. When I travel or vacation with conscious awareness there can be times when I will be “deeply moved” (awestruck) by something I encounter. It could be the hospitality of a family I meet; a genuine smile; the grandeur of a sunrise or simply the revelation that I am blessed to be alive. Personally, even after countless visits to Monument Valley, I am still moved tears while I am there. But these are tears of joy, humility and gratitude.”
UPCOMING RETREATS – GAY COUPLES RETREAT IN BELIZE!
The Wonders of Egypt – 2010 …Egypt and the Nile, May 02, 2010 to May 15, 2010, This Journey is for Gay and Bi Men, $4095.00.
Come experience Egypt as few people ever will as we make special arrangements to be allowed inside the Great Pyramid and to get up close and personal with the Sphinx, things that are off limits to the public and have been for many years.
– A private visit to the King’s Chamber inside the Great Pyramid…
– A private visit to the Sphinx to stand between it’s paws, to place your hands upon it…
– A private visit to the Isle of Philae and the Temple of Isis at sunrise…
– Eight days cruising the Nile on our own private dahabiya (a luxury sailing yacht)…
– A small, intimate group of fellow journeyers (a maximum of 16)…
All this, and more, make this is a very special Spirit Journey indeed, one that can truly be called “a journey of a lifetime.”
Explore the World. Explore your Self.
Rest, relax, rejuvenate and play! Spirit Journeys
New Gay Travel Guide
Is Your Carry-On Bag Safe While You Are Sleeping?! No, Just Ask Cybill Shepherd’s Son Cyrus
CAN YOU IMAGINE?! That takes some big balls. You close your eyes for a little nap and some crack head is going through your stuff!
Cyrus Shepherd-Oppenheim, a University of Pennsylvania student, took a Canon digital camera, leather make-up case and cash from the bags of people aboard a United Airlines flight from San Francisco, according to police.
He was taken into custody after the flight landed at Philadelphia International Airport.
Police say witnesses identified Shepherd-Oppenheim, who is known as Zach – short for his middle name Zacariah – as the person who took their belongings during the six-hour flight.
He will have a court appearance next month, for the charges.
As for Cybill, she recently attended Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center’s “An Evening With Women” in support of gay and lesbian marriage rights. In California’s last election, it is said that Proposition 8 was passed which resulted in gay and lesbian rights to be nullified.
Her passion is to keep fighting for their rights which she believed to have derived from Martin Luther King’s assassination.
She has actually been very busy lately. She appeared on several episodes of EASTWICK, and has 5 movies coming out!
Gosh, mugshots are never pretty….
Spend an Intimate Week With the Boys from Bel Ami Studios in Cape Town, South Africa
THIS IS THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
THE VACATION OF YOUR DREAMS!
For the first time ever, BelAmi is offering a limited opportunity for fans to meet the BelAmi models and crew and partake in the BelAmi Photo Workshop. This is an unique chance to meet the team in person that have inspired so many fantasies on film.
There will be 2 workshop sessions (depending on interest) scheduled during an upcoming film shoot in Cape Town/South Africa. The workshop participants will have access to most of the current stars from our movies and website. You will get to meet the guys, socialize with them and most importantly have the opportunity to take you own images of the guys!! The best pictures will be published in a special commemorative book.
Can you imagine hanging out with the most beautiful young men in the world! And having the chance to photograph them?!
The workshops will have the following format:
Day 1: Arrival and welcome dinner. At the welcome dinner you will be introduced to your instructor, meet and get the chance to chat with BelAmi founder George Duroy and all of the crew as well as the chance to get to know some of the models that you will be working with for the next 4 days
Day 2 – 5: 1/2 day workshop and instruction, 1/2 day freeform photographic session
Day 6: Brunch and Departure
Included in the package is:
-Working with models including: Kris Evans, Dolph Lambert, Jean-Daniel Chagall, Ariel Vanean, Luke Hamill, Todd Rosset and the Peters twins
-All accommodation for the duration of the course (5 nights) individual rooms in a small hotel reserved entirely for BelAmi
-Transfers to and from the airport and from the hotel to the locations.
-All breakfast and on the set meals
-4 days of expert instruction and photo shooting at our filming locations and other places
-6 months membership to our website BelAmiOnline
-Signed copies of both Howard Roffman and Benno Thom’s most recent BelAmi photo books
-A copy of the commemorative book (when published)
-Certificate of completion
-Farewell Brunch
WOW! Does that sound amazing, or what?!
Each workshop will be limited to 5-7 places, to ensure that each person will get maximum personal attention.
The course will cost only 5,500 euro, booking will be secured upon payment of a 50% deposit.
Workshop 1, starting on March 8 and finishing March 13 will be conducted by Howard Roffman and we recommend this for participants who have some basic knowledge of photography
Workshop 2, starting on March 14 and finishing March 20 will be conducted by Benno Thoma will be ideal for aspiring photographers of all levels, from pure beginners to those who have knowledge of their camera already.
For further details and
expressions of interest,
please contact us
IMMEDIATELY
at raphaelsmp (at) gmail . com
by January 15!!!
New Gay Travel Guide is MOBILE on your Smart Phone
DID YOU KNOW….
You can now get
NEW GAY TRAVEL GUIDE
formatted for your phone?!
NEW GAY TRAVEL
GUIDE MOBILE
LGBT Gay Travel Links and Resources!
PLUS – USEFUL LGBT RESOURCES!
