Tel Aviv's Pride Parade
Photo: Yaron Berner
Tel Aviv nominated for gay tourism awards
City to compete in MTV-sponsored race for titles of 'Sexiest City', 'Best Breakout Destination'
Tel Aviv has been nominated for two TripOut Gay Travel Awards, sponsored by MTV and the gay travel website 'TripOut'.
The city has been marketing itself as a gay metropolis for the past few years, with the GLBT community working together with the municipality to create hot spots and attractions for homosexual travelers.
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For the prizes, Tel Aviv is competing against cities such as Barcelona, Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, and Toronto.
TripOut is a site advising the homosexual traveler, a product of MTV's Logo network. The network owns a number of other sites dedicated to the LGBT community, and its broadcasts reach 40 million homes in the US alone.
Gay pride in 2010 (Photo: Yaron Brener)
The International Gay and Lesbian Tourism Association's ambassador in Israel, Shay Deutsch, is excited. "When we began working in 2006, we dreamt of turning Tel Aviv into one of the top destinations, and it appears we're on the right track," he said.
Deutsch added that thousands of gay tourists visited the city this year, and that he believed next year would be even more profitable.
Tel Aviv council member Yaniv Weizman, who advises the mayor on all LGBT matters, said the municipality had made the labeling of Tel Aviv as a gay tourism destination a top priority.
"I am excited to see that the world is beginning to discover the charm of the city," he said. "Clearly this is only the first step towards making the city one of the five most desirable destinations in the world."
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