According to a representative survey carried out by the Vienna Tourist Board, gay and lesbian travelers appreciate the rich history of the city, the impressive architecture and the enormous range of art and culture. They extremely are well educated, earn about 20% more than the average visitor and also travel more frequently. According to the “Global LGBT 2030 Research Study” carried out by Out Now Consulting, LGBT travelers spent a total of 218 billion US dollars globally in 2018. At World Pride 2017 in Madrid, total expenditures by visitors amounted to 115 million euros – a potential that Vienna too knows how to harness, especially in the run-up to EuroPride 2019.
The Vienna Tourist Board has been specifically focusing on the LGBT community for 20 years. During this time, the city has grown from “hidden hero” to award-winning “hotspot”: In 2017, the city was chosen by the world tourism organization UNWTO as a best practice travel destination and “iconic destination for LGBT travelers“. In January 2018, Vienna was named “Best International Destination 2017” by GayTravel.com, one of the world’s largest LGBT travel platforms. Most recently, in March 2018 Vienna won the Australian LGBTI award in the category “Destination of the Year” despite tough competition from e.g. New York, Canada, Thailand, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
In 2018 the Vienna Tourist Board addressed LGBT target groups at travel trade fairs such as ITB in Berlin and “PROUD Experiences” in London, Europe's first B2B travel fair focusing on the LGBT population, presented the destination at relevant events such as the Prides in Rome and Tokyo, invited media representatives and the travel industry to Vienna Pride, and carried out content marketing in selected source markets. Full information about Vienna as a destination can be found at LGBT.wien.info.