London-based Out Now, which develops LGBT marketing solutions, said many Pride events are now officially supported and endorsed by local governments due to their financial tourism impact, becoming an intrinsic part of the cultural landscape of many large cities.

The research surveyed respondents in 13 languages in more than 20 countries across five continents. As part of the research Out Now asked the respondents how important LGBT Prides were to them when making their travel plans, and the answers showed some surprising countries from where  most LGBT tourists come from.

Turkey tops the list for tourists most likely to be motivated to travel to attend a city’s Pride celebrations, followed by Japanese and Israeli LGBT travellers(see chart below).

However in other countries, such as the Netherlands and Germany, LGBT people are far less motivated to plan their vacations around attending a city’s local Pride events.

According to Out Now, things have changed almost unrecognisably over these past four and a half decades. Many places now boast of newly minted equal rights for LGBT people – something well worth celebrating. Now, it is quite likely to see a group of police officers marching in a Pride parade – rather than trying to break one up.

Other findings in  study:

• June is an important month for LGBT communities around the world, as many cities in the northern hemisphere gear up for annual Pride celebrations.

• LGBT people from countries all over the world are motivated to travel to a particular city because of an LGBT Pride, film or other LGBT cultural festival.

• Pride celebrations are now much more than just a parade followed by large-scale parties. Many now include weeks of festival programming and events including myriad arts and cultural festivals, seminars and educational conferences, community fundraising galas and sporting competitions.

• Pride events are now major draws for tourists attracting a massive influx of cashed-up tourists keen for fun, which also provides a vital boost to local economies.

Darren Cooper, senior consultant for Out Now said the new data showed that Pride events,and other LGBT festivals could play an important part in attracting LGBT visitors to particular destinations.

“But destinations and LGBT organisations need to understand that not all LGBT people want to visit when a large gay community event is happening. The fact that one of the landmark events in any city’s annual calendar is a Pride event sends out a strong message to LGBT people that they are more likely to be welcomed in that destination at other times of the year. Pride festivals reflect attributes about a destination that resonate strongly with almost any tourist – including respect, safety, acceptance and equality.”

Cooper added that tourism offices that place all their tourism marketing focus on large Pride events are missing out on a year-round LGBT tourism potential.

“Relying solely on a Pride event to attract LGBT tourism – no matter how large and well-organised – is no longer in 2014 the most effective tourism marketing strategy. Events do still matter – especially to attract travellers from some newer markets, like India, Brazil, Israel and Turkey – but a broader, year-round approach is what is really needed to yield stronger results from more established LGBT markets. That is how a destination can build sustainable and growing LGBT tourism returns. That is especially so when trying to attract LGBT tourism from key markets such as the USA, Germany, UK and Germany.”

He also stressed staff training in hotels and tourist attractions, and focusing on a broad range of attributes of a destination to make LGBT people understand they are genuinely welcomed is the key to LGBT tourism market success in 2014.”

• Photo credit (paper hearts): Yulia Grigoryeva/Shutterstock