by Melanie Nathan,  San Francisco:
Three of America’s leading LGBT cruise companies announced a joint fund to raise money for disaster relief in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.  Olivia Cruises, the all lesbian cruise and vacation company, owned by Judy Dulgacz and Rachel Wahba, is amongst the three who have joined forces.

Dlugacz, President and founder of Olivia Companies, a lesbian-oriented vacation company, commented that “so many of our passengers have been touched by the destruction and poverty in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. It is important that as LGBT Americans, we come together to show our community’s solidarity and support for those living through this unimaginable disaster.”

Rachel Wahba told Lezgetreal that Olivia has a history of helping in disasters mentioning the time when she and Judy visited a Club Med in Mexico on an Olivia vacation, soon after a hurricane had caused devastation.   The guests arrived after the hurricane and raised a lot of money which was matched by a local bank.

American Red Cross Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Floyd W. Pitts stated “We are thrilled with this partnership with the LGBT community and we are delighted to be working with organizations which take such a strong interest in humanitarian response”.

The other cruise groups involved include Atlantis and RSVP cruises (a subsidiary of Atlantis), has also joined the effort.

According to PR-USA.dot.net.  Atlantis/RSVP have pledged $15,000 in matching contributions, Olivia has pledged an additional $7,500 for a total of $22,500. Olivia is also offering a limited number of free cruises to those who contribute $7,500 or more. They are urging all LGBT individuals and organizations to contribute and provide matching funds when possible. To contribute to the fund, visit: http://american.redcross.org/LGBT-pub

“Olivia was created to serve a lesbian market that ranges from women who must live quietly in suburbia, to women who have the freedom to walk the streets holding hands. I am extremely blessed to have been part of this amazing experience. When the company launched 35 years ago, I never dreamed Olivia would become the company that it is today,” says Judy Dlugacz, President and Founder of Olivia.

Olivia’s has featured headliners such as Melissa Etheridge, kd lang, Heart and The Indigo Girls. Sports stars (Sheryl Swoops, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Rosie Jones, Diana Nyad) and comedians (Margaret Cho, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin) are no stranger to Olivia, either. Olivia also has amazing house entertainers—fantastic singers, comedians and other performers who have become part of the Olivia family.

Olivia has also recently rolled out its Sisters at Sea™ and Sisters at Play™ programs, which are designed for lesbians of color and their friends and provide special programming and activities onboard or at the resort. Olivia also has a solos/singles program so women traveling solo can meet up for meals, excursions and special parties and activities designed just for them.

In addition, Olivia has a strong online presence in the lesbian community, and Olivia.com boasts a vibrant community of women from around the world. Olivia.com was designed with the needs of the lesbian market in mind, and enables lesbians of all ages, cultures and passions to connect online. The site allows women to network, find out about Olivia and its lesbian-friendly partners, as well as plan their next trips. Olivia seeks to create memorable community experiences and Olivia.com is an extension of that mission.

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• Haiti Earthquake Overwhelms Medical Workers (abcnews.go.com)
• House OKs 2009 tax break for Haiti gifts (msnbc.msn.com)
• 01/29/2010 American Red Cross President Witnesses Haiti’s Need Firsthand (basilandspice.com)

Melanie Nathan LGBT ADvocate /Activist

 by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

The tourism industry has suffered greatly since the recession hit. Many Americans are tightening their belts and lavish vacations are generally one of the first luxury items to go. However, NY1, New York City’s 24 hour news channel, is reporting that the LGBT community is the only market that is actually growing in the tourism sector.

“Data show that a gay couple spends $7,000 on a week’s trip, about $2,000 more than their heterosexual counterparts.”

NY1 goes onto report that the LGBT community is more likely to look for gay tolerant cities and high end spa facilities, restaurants and a thriving nightlife. It seems that the largest deterrent is places that have historically displayed anti-gay tendencies, such as Jamaica.

If peace and love towards one’s fellow man won’t help these countries fix their attitude towards gays, maybe the sagging economy will.

http://www.ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/top_stories/111585/market-for-lgbt-travel-still-grows

8/30/09-by Paula Brooks
Saying its “marketing strategy is coming out of the closet,” Harrah’s Atlantic City New Jersey operations announced this week they are courting gay and lesbian travelers in hopes of attracting new customers to a market that has been demolished by the recession and competition from neighboring states.

Harrah’s has been catering events to gay and lesbian travelers at its Las Vegas casinos for a sometime now, but now says it will launch a similar campaign in its Atlantic City gambling operations with an event called “Out in Atlantic City” Sept. 25-27.

As a group, we gays and lesbians spend $64.5 billion annually in the U.S. travel market, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and a study by Community Marketing Inc., a gay-market research group.

A national online survey conducted by Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris Interactive found that gay and lesbian consumers planned to spend an average of $2,300 for business and leisure trips this summer as opposed to $1,500 by our heterosexual counterparts.

Harrah’s developed its marketing campaign with the help of an employee advisory board that included LGBT casino workers.

“We believe our customer base comes from all cultures, all sexual orientations and all backgrounds. We really believe that our customers will embrace this,” said Jennifer Weissman, regional vice president of marketing for Harrah’s Entertainment Inc last week in an article on Press of Atlantic City.com.

The push according to Weissman, in establishing Atlantic City as a “gay friendly” town not only emphasizes the need to expand the customer base of the casino, but also reflects a shift in the cultural landscape of AC as a whole.

Harrah’s gay marketing program is the first of its kind for any Atlantic City casino and is part of an overall effort by Atlantic City to make the city a gayer travel destination.

The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority has also recently reached out to the gay and lesbian community through advertisements in gay travel media and by setting up a promotions booth at a recent gay-themed consumer show in New York.

In addition, a private, nonprofit organization called the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance was formed this summer to promote LGBT businesses in the surrounding area.

Harrah’s plans to host some of the best-known names in the gay and lesbian entertainment scene and the casino hopes the event will draw more than 1,000 people through its doors.

Amanda Lepore will kick things off with a party at Club Worship at Showboat Casino Hotel’s House of Blues.

The “Out in Atlantic City” weekend will also include appearances by singer and “Dyke Diva” Lori Michaels and the cast members of Showtime’s lesbian-themed series, “The L Word,” will be on hand for a Q&A with Pam Grier, Rose Rollins, Kate French, and Mia Kirshner.

Lance Bass, of ‘N Sync fame, and Jai Rodriguez, of the Bravo Network’s show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” will also be throwing a party at Harrah’s Caesars Atlantic City as well and Rodriguez will also host a game of bingo at Harrah’s Resort, with proceeds benefiting the South Jersey AIDS Alliance.

“It comes down to diversity in our company and diversity in our workers and our customers,” said Weissman. “We believe that by having different backgrounds and different perspectives, it will only make us a better business.”

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• Harrah’s Hotel and Casino Pleads for Gay Rights on Economic Grounds (queersunited.blogspot.com)

Twitter was all a buzz yesterday over a new Orbitz commercial. The commercial is set on a golf course and one of the golfers is wearing a shirt with an HRC logo on it. The logo looks to have been enlarged so that it really stands out. Those commenting on the internet wondered if the logo was intentional

The inclusion of the HRC logo was confirmed by Brian Hoyt, Orbitz’s vice president of corporate communications and government affairs.

This is not the first time Orbitz has marketed to the gay community. In June 2002, Orbitz launched www.orbitz.com/gaytravel within its main Web site. Going to the address you will find information about gay-friendly destinations and events.

Lezzymom has two kids and a wonderful partner. Her political commentary has appeared on C-Span and CSPAN.org. Visit her Lezzymom blog for more of her insights.

Olivia is a company offering a variety of services for lesbians, founded by Judy Dlugacz as a women’s record label in 1973 and since then “The Olivia Companies” have continued to expand to include Olivia Travel, Olivia.com, and an Olivia Community in Tucson, Arizona.

Olivia Travel offered its first all-woman cruise in 1990 and remains the only company in the world offering cruises that cater only to lesbians, according to Wikipedia.

“Olivia was created to serve a lesbian market that ranges from women who must live quietly in suburbia, to women who have the freedom to walk the streets holding hands. I am extremely blessed to have been part of this amazing experience. When the company launched 35 years ago, I never dreamed Olivia would become the company that it is today,” says Judy Dlugacz, President and Founder of Olivia.

According to the Olivia.com website 98% of the women who travel with Olivia Travel return.

This is due largely to the fact that Olivia cruises include exclusive entertainment for lesbians which includes popular celebrities such as Melissa Etheridge, kd lang, Heart, Belinda Carlisle, The Go Gos, Indigo Girls and Paula Cole; sports stars such as Sheryl Swoops, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Rosie Jones and comedians like Margaret Cho, Whoopi Goldberg, and Lily Tomlin.

The lesbian travel company prides itself on “featuring both international superstars and the latest up-and-coming performers, thereby catering to a wide cross section of women”.

Olivia rolled out its Sistas at Sea™ and Sistas at Play™ programs for lesbians of color; and in April 2008, one of the stars of the popular lesbian series “The L Word”, Leisha Hailey, signed on as Olivia’s spokesperson and voice to the company. The L Word featured the cruise line in some of their episodes, highlighting the fact that Olivia is part of the lives of most lesbians who love to travel. Leisha Hailey attracts fans of The L Word to the Olivia brand.

You can read more about what it’s like on an Olivia vacation on About.com here or watch a YouTube video commercial for Olivia.com below:

You can also find a social networking community on Olivia.com called Olivia Connect.

This portion of their website allows lesbians online to network and communicate, find out more about Olivia and its lesbian-friendly partners, and talk about their trips with Olivia Cruises. You can find my profile on Olivia Connect here where you will find that I post articles I write for the portion of Olivia Connect called Olivia Voices. Olivia Voices are blogs by lesbians online sharing their voices on different topics of interest to other lesbians. You can find my voice on Olivia here where I share the articles that I write for my blog Lesbian Mommy and LezGetReal.

I hope that you enjoyed this article and learning more about what Olivia has to offer lesbians worldwide.

Lez Travel is Sponsored By:

Sweet is a new lesbian travel company with a focus on “social and environmental awareness”.

They recently celebrated their first birthday and the company is making waves in the industry so to speak. Every one of Sweet’s vacations are “carbon neutral“, which means that they offset the pollution created by air, land and sea travel. Sweet also makes it a point to raise money for worthwhile causes and take part in meaningful projects all over the world. They claim to travel to “amazing places with the very best lesbian entertainers and off-the-hook parties”.

Here’s what else they have to say…

Sweet is for women who want to do it all on their vacations and in their lives. It’s for women who work hard and play hard, women with big hearts and big dreams. It’s about making life as sweet as possible. That means we’re producing fun events, raising money and awareness for causes about which we feel passionately and encouraging our guests to reach their personal goals all year round, in addition to running our business in a environmentally and socially responsible way.

As we’re making decisions about pricing, policies, entertainment, partnerships, even where to go for lunch, we ask ourselves, “Is that Sweet?” or “How can we make that Sweet?” As you browse our web site, you’ll see that sweetness at every turn.

If that sounds “sweet” to you then be sure to check them out!

Their website is DiscoverSweet.com where you’ll find vacation information, event information, and a discussion forum as well.

Here is a promo video as well just for fun…

Lez Travel is Sponsored By:

Bump! is an international gay and lesbian travel show on TV.

I first saw Bump! on the LOGO channel with lesbian host Shannon McDonough in Valencia and I was hooked, plus I liked the show too. *wink* Shannon took us through many features of the area that you wouldn’t be able to find on your own, so if you are a lesbian traveler you’ll want to be sure to take a look around the Bump! website and catch the show if you can. You shouldn’t have a problem because Bump! is shown around the world! Along with LOGO here in the U.S., you can find Bump! being aired in Canada on OUT TV, in France and Belgium on pink TV, and in Israel on Ananey. In Europe, use your mobile phone to watch Bump! anywhere Mango TV is available.

I never wanted to go to Spain before, but now it’s on my list. Thanks Shannon! Anyhow, there are two other hosts you’ll find on Bump! – Charlie David and J.R. Anderson. You can find out more about all three on the Bump! website here. The website also features fun stuff and helpful links for travelers so be sure to visit the website at
BumpTV.com.

You can also find Bump! podcasts iTunes Store Home Page, or find previous episodes on DVD at Amazon:

Newer episodes of Bump! can also be found on the LOGO website. Enjoy!

Lez Travel is Sponsored By:

It’s the time of year when things start warming up around here, and for some it’s ripe time for a getaway to any place that’s a bit warmer.

Lez Travel is a new column here on LezGetReal.com aimed at sharing insights on the travel industry and travel must-knows for all real lesbians (while making you aware of the locations in the world that are lesbian friendly and which are not). In our first issue of Lez Travel I want to make you aware of a lesbian travel site online fixed with all the trimmings a traveling lesbian is a looking for called Girlports. Girlports is for lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered women to find travel information and events of importance to women like us. They also provide a place for these women to share their travel experiences and encourage us to support lesbian friendly communities around the world. Girlports was launched in September, 2007.

Who I’d like to meet:
All lesbians, bisexual, trans and questioning women who love travel as much as I do. There are so many cool spots and people in this world, and this is a great place for us to meet. I’d love to hear about your favorite destinations and lesbian events around the world, so I can add them to www.girlports.com. Incredibly enough, Girlports is the world’s only lesbian travel site, and I think we deserve to have more travel information written exclusively for us!

You can sign up for the Girlports Newsletter to keep up to date on the latest in lesbian travel from Girlports here or visit the Girlports main page for more here.

Lez Travel is Sponsored By:

When I saw this story about the Town of Alice Springs, Australia today I was a bit reluctant to share it… because I have been keeping the info presented in the story secret for sometime now…

The Outback town of Alice Springs is located in the Heart of Australia, is surrounded by breathtaking mountain ranges and is located in one of the harshest places on the planet.It is also one of the remotest towns on Earth.

One of the mainstays of the Alice Springs economy is the Joint Defense Space Research Facility at Pine Gap located just outside Alice Spring. It is a complex that manages numerous military and intelligence satellite operations… and most of those operations are very hush hush…

You see I have a long history with Alice Springs.

When I was nine, my father, who was an officer with the US Air Force, was the Air Force commander of the Joint Defense Space Research Facility.

Then again in 1998 I was back in Alice Springs, this time as an employee of the National Security Agency for 7 months.

U.S. government personnel in Alice Springs are mostly from the National Security Agency, the Military Intelligence Services and the Central Intelligence Agency, so most of the stuff that goes on at Pine Gap is pretty James Bondian in nature and this base has received something of an X-files Area 51 reputation among conspiracy theorists of all stripes who claim that everything from reverse engineering research on “alien magnetic anti gravity propulsion” to “deep hole” nuclear tests go on there.

However these are not the secrets I was keeping about Alice Springs…

You see for those of us really in the know, another closely guarded Alice Springs secret was the town of Alice Springs has long been considered the lesbian capital of Australia and is a veritable Lesbian Fantasy Island. And I was sworn to keep this fact a secret, not by our government, but by some very tough, hard drinking, bull riding “Shelia’s” I met at a local Alice Springs water hole.

Nevertheless, now Alice Springs is about to be outed in a Australian Broadcasting Company television documentary that takes a look at the town’s culture that has become a haven for a lesbian community that is thought by some to be made up of a population of as many as 5,000 of our sisters.

Yep that’s right… Now its out… There are 5,000 lovely lesbians living out in the Out Back, miles from anyplace… in a town that has a total population of about 27,000 people.

That is the real X-file secret being exposed here… The documentary called ‘Destiny in Alice’ is a 25-minute co-production by the ABC and CAAMA, tells how the town became a “haven” for lesbians after several hundred women marched on the Pine Gap intelligence base in 1983.

I remember the protest that started it all. And yes it is true… Alice Springs had to be the most target rich environment I have ever seen in my life if you happen to be a baby dyke on the prowl.

When asked, Alice mayor Damien Ryan said he didn’t have a clue how many lesbians there were in the town.

“Nobody has ever done a census,” he said.

But Alice’s deputy mayor Murray Stewart said that give the town the title of lesbian capital of Australia was “reasonable”.

“Per capita, we’re very well represented by lesbians,” he said.

“And I don’t care less,” he added.

Just let me share this one last thing with you… When I was there in 98… I’ve never been able to get laid more in my life.