Dallas, Houston and the rush (or not) for gay tourism

So here's a different take on Houston vs. Dallas: Our friends to the north seem to have pulled ahead of Houston in luring gay tourists, at least according to KPRC. Apparently, Dallas has trumped Houston in GLBT tourism by adding a gay tourism area to its Convention and Visitors Bureau website. As the site says:

Dallas continues to propel itself forward, now a richly diverse American city with a melting pot of cultures, religions and lifestyles. It has left behind stereotypes of big-haired women and rowdy cowboys — that is, unless you count sassy drag queens and strapping gay rodeo champs.

Ah, swapping out one set of stereotypes for another. Way to go!

Houston's visitors bureau website doesn't have a link specifically for gay travelers, but Houston CVB President Jordy Tollett was quick to point out that he doesn't think we need one: "We're not bragging about putting one picture up with no real information," Tollett told KPRC, adding that Houston embraces all kinds of diversity and doesn't plan to target any particular group.

Interestingly enough, the Dallas CVB's gay section claims Dallas has the sixth-largest gay population in the U.S. and the largest in Texas. KPRC reports Houston "outnumbers Dallas in gay and lesbian total population." Houstonist couldn't find any conclusive data to back up either claim, but based on the amount of big hair we've seen when we were in Dallas, we assume there are, indeed, a high number of sassy drag queens there. (Hey, the city said it, not us!)

The reason for the push to attract gay travelers, of course, is money. According to Dallas CVB CEO Phillip Jones, gay travelers spend $65 billion a year on travel, and research shows GLBT travelers have an average household income of $87,000 a year.