Survey: LGBT Visitors to Israel Remain Longer, Spend More Than Other Tourists

The Algemeiner reports: A new survey found that gay tourists to Israel remain longer and spend 40 percent more money than other tourists, the Hebrew news site nrg reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the survey also revealed that tourists to the Jewish state from LGBT communities abroad tend to make contact and develop relationships with Israelis through social media and dating sites prior to their arrival.

The survey – the first of its kind — was conducted during Gay Pride Week, which kicked off on May 29, by the head of the Tel Aviv Municipality’s Ir Olam (World City) and Tourism task force, to examine the entertainment and consumer habits of gay visitors from abroad.

The questionnaire was created and analyzed by Israeli researchers Dr. Yael Ram and Dr. Amit Kama and Prof. Colin Michael Hall from New Zealand. It was given to 167 tourists at information centers, the Hilton Hotel beach and at an LGBT party held at the Charles Clore Park along the Tel Aviv Promenade during Gay Pride Week. Despite the survey’s limited scope, the municipality stressed that the answers revealed a number of interesting trends.