Travel + Leisure has named San
Francisco America's best city for gay travel.
In an accompanying story, the travel
glossy wrote that being a “gay-friendly destination these days
means more than having a selection of bars or a gayborhood.”
“It needs to be more than just
putting up a rainbow flag,” said John Clifford, president of agency
International Travel Management. “It's about sensitivity and
savvy.”
Desiree Sousa, owner of the Gay
Travel Information blog, said that it was about the sense of
welcome a city conveys.
“I don't fear holding my wife's hand
when I walk downtown [Providence, Rhode Island], even late at night,”
she said. “And I don't stop myself from introducing her as my
'wife' at local businesses. There is an overall accepting vibe.
When I travel, I want to feel safe being myself.”
The top 20 cities for gay travel as
ranked
by the magazine are San Francisco (1), New Orleans (2),
Minneapolis/St. Paul (3), Santa Fe (4), New York City (5), Providence
(6), Portland, Washington (7), Seattle (8), San Diego (9), Miami
(10), Austin (11), Chicago (12), Savannah (13), Los Angeles (14),
Portland, Maine (15), Boston (16), Philadelphia (17), Las Vegas (18),
District of Columbia (19) and Honolulu (20).