Gay tourism: are you prepared?

Abstract

Considering the visible growth of the LGBT community and the discussion of its economical impact on tourism, and due to the recent increase of the touristic activity in the Azores, this study aims to analyze the gay tourist and the receptivity to this segment from the Azorean accommodation establishments at the booking process. The recent development of the touristic activity in the Azores and the quest for valued niches also justify this approach. To do so, four fictional couples were created, two gay couples (man-man, woman-woman) and two heterosexual couples (woman-man, man-woman), so gender differences could be assessed. Via the official listing of accommodation establishments in the Azores, an e-mail was sent to 406 establishments, supposedly written by one of these couples, requesting information and availability for a honeymoon stay. This approach was employed so that it was as close as possible to a real life situation with less susceptibility to obtain answers influenced by social desirability. The results indicated that the number of accommodations offered to straight couples was not higher than the number offered to gay couples. More so, the characteristics of the establishments were not determinant of the type of answer, women gave the most answers, gay men received less positive responses than gay women, and gay tourists seemed to get slower responses. Discrimination problems and lack of sensibility might lead to negative consequences to a destination. This research aims to contribute to a continuous improvement of the services provided from the different Azorean tourism stakeholders.