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Orange County, North Carolina Thrives Thanks to LGBT Tourists
2014 was a great year for Orange County, North Carolina in tourism. According to OC visitors Bureau Director, Laura Paolicelli, the LGBT community is to thank for tourism going over the top.
In a market segment from five or six years back, Paolicelli noticed that there needed to be more gay-friendly attractions in regards to clubs and experience, but she also realized that “once gay globe trotters become parents, the importance of family-friendly trumps gay-friendly, when planning getaways.”
Since marriage equality became legal in North Carolina, there have been an increase of inquiries about wedding information and honeymoons. Carrboro, North Carolina Mayor Lydia Lavelle and partner Alicia Stemper’s public ceremony in NYC that became national news helped a great deal with traction for OC when they became the first same-sex to register for a wedding license in OC.
A national campaign for LGBT travel by the Visitors Bureau was placed in early December. With two cities (Carrboro and Chapel Hill) in North Carolina nationally recognized for its progressive ideals, other cities like OC are following the footsteps of making this state a likely attraction for LGBT visitors.
