Orlando – Although Florida doesn’t have marriage equality, it does have sunshine, access to fabulous sandy beaches and loads of theme parks, shopping and restaurants.
Converge Orlando Inc., the Central Florida LGBT Convention and Visitors Bureau, plans to capitalize on those assets by launching a HONEYMOON: Destination, Orlando campaign in December.
With 15 states now offering same sex marriage, more than 50,000 couples are expected to get hitched in the coming year, according to Converge. That is an estimated $150 million spent on honeymoons. The U.S. Census reveals 620,000 LGBT couples scattered around the country.
The Orlando area has been an international destination for years. At the moment, 17 different counties have legalized gay marriage with the number growing. One of these countries, Brazil, provides the most visitors to Orlando of any other country.
“Until Florida can get same sex marriage legal, we are excited to be campaigning for newlyweds from over 15 States to select Orlando as their honeymoon destination of choice,” said Mikael Frank Audebert, Executive Director of Converge Orlando, in a media release.
Through Nov. 25, Converge Orlando will offer member hotels and restaurants the opportunity to participate in the program, which will be featured on the OrlandoGayTravel.com/Honeymoon website.
When it goes live on Dec. 1, honeymooners who show their marriage certificates will receive discounts on rooms, dining, parks and other activities. Converge Orlando will focus an advertising campaign on the 15 legal states including print, radio and social media. Macy’s and The Wedding Alliance will sponsor a $50,000 Google ad-words campaign in select markets.
