Gay Tourism Supporting Many Sunbelt 
by Fidel Ortega
365Gay.com Newscenter in Miami

(November 26, Miami)  The aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington has hit hard at tourism, the major economic sector in much of the Sunbelt.

Travel some parts of Florida continues to be down by as much as 50 per cent from the same time a year ago.

But, one part of the market appears not to be affected: Gay and lesbian tourism. 

Gay clubs and resorts in South Florida say they have seen little downturn.  In South Beach, most hotels that cater to the GLBT community are filled through Christmas and say there are indications they could have a banner year.

Lineups continue to form in front of clubs and bars and owners say the fear of more terrorist attacks has not stopped the partying.

In Fort Lauderdale, the world famous gay beach is packed with gay men soaking up the rays. 

Jean Claude, who comes from Montreal said he wasn't afraid to fly to Florida.  "I've lost to many friends to things like AIDS to fear death myself," he says.

New Yorker Chris Keller said he'd made his reservations before 9-11 and had thought about cancelling, then decided to go ahead at the last minute.   

Lauderdale has become one of the nation's leading gay resort destinations. There are more than 30 hotels catering to the gay and lesbian market, and the hotel industry estimates that 555,000 gay and lesbian tourists visited the area last year and spent more than $500 million.