San Diego Navigaytour to Include First-Ever Same-Sex Wedding Planner

Altus Group and the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau are producing the first-ever gay and lesbian wedding planner.

The free planner will be available as a special section in the San Diego Navigaytour, San Diego’s official gay and lesbian travel guide. It will include detailed information for same-sex couples planning a wedding in San Diego, including listings of gay-friendly outdoor venues, caterers, florists, churches and temples, as well as clergy that conduct same-sex marriages.

“The gay wedding gold rush is on,” said David Jefferys, president of the Altus Group. “If you run a business and want to connect with same-sex couples planning a wedding, the Navigaytour is ideal for you.”

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court affirmed the rights for same-sex couples to marry in California. The decision opened the way for couples from across the United States to legally wed.

The decision will likely provide a major boost to the California economy. A study by UCLA predicts over $683 million in wedding spending over the next three years from in-state and out-of-state couples. Over 67,500 same-sex couples are predicted to travel to California to marry over the next three years, while 51,000 in-state couples are likely to tie-the-knot.

The City Navigaytour was founded in Philadelphia in 2002 as an outgrowth of Altus Group’s highly successful “Philadelphia: Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay” advertising campaign. The campaign was the first comprehensive advertising campaign to target gay and lesbian travelers for a United States destination.

Today, Altus Group produces City Navigaytours for cities including Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Chicago and New Orleans. Copies of the guides are available online at www.cityNavigaytour.com.

The SDCVB sells and markets San Diego County as a preferred vacation destination and meeting and convention site. Consistently rated one of the nation’s top destinations and CVBs, San Diego offers a dedicated staff, comprehensive website, www.sandiego.org, visitor guides, promotional materials, a multi-lingual International Visitor Information Center, and more.

Altus Group and LA INC. Launch Gay and Lesbian Wedding and Travel Guide for Los Angeles

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court issued a decision upholding the right of gays and lesbians to marry in California. Los Angeles, already rated one of the top four gay-destinations in the United States, is now poised to become a premiere wedding destination for same-sex couples in the United States.

To support its efforts, LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, has partnered with the Altus Group to produce a gay and lesbian travel guide and wedding planner for Los Angeles, called the Los Angeles Navigaytour.

“The Los Angeles Navigaytour will be the gay couple’s best friend for planning the perfect wedding,” said David Jefferys, president of Altus Group and publisher of the guide.

In addition to travel information of interest to gays and lesbians, The Navigaytour will include a wedding planning section highlighting the city’s many resources for gay weddings. The special pull-out section will include detailed information about outdoor venues, gay-friendly hotels, caterers, florists, churches and temples, as well as listings of clergy who conduct same-sex marriages.

“It will be like having a wedding planner at your side every step of the way,” Jeffery’s said.

The Navigaytour will also include voluminous travel information for the gay visitor, including gay-friendly restaurants, local attractions, restaurants and bars, entertainment and leisure activities for a stay in L.A.

“You will have no problem finding activities for your guests,” Jefferys said.

The Los Angeles Navigaytour will be available beginning in mid-July at gay-themed trade shows across the country. Hundreds of tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus and businesses in Los Angeles and Southern California will also carry the guides.

LA INC., The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, is a private, nonprofit business association whose primary mission is to market and promote Los Angeles as the premier site for meetings, conventions and leisure travel. Though not part of city government, L.A. INC. is recognized as the city’s official tourism marketing organization. For more information, visit the official visitor information Web site of Los Angeles at www.discoverLosAngeles.com.

Altus Group is a Philadelphia-based marketing communications agency that focuses on gay consumers. The agency produced the first gay-themed tourism campaign, “Philadelphia: Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay^™” for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation.

In addition, Altus Group (www.altus-group.com) produces a gay-themed travel Web site: www.navigaytour.com, which offers gay and lesbian travelers a complete online trip planner for gay-friendly destinations. Altus also produces Navigaytour guides for cities including Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Diego.