CHICAGO, Ill. — Did last year’s Pride celebrations give you FOMO (fear of missing out)? With April acting as the unofficial kick off to Pride season, recognized annually and internationally throughout June, travelers can start planning a trip around the upcoming 2019 Pride festivities. To help facilitate that, Orbitz has launched its new Orbitz Pride Travel Guide that features booking tips, itineraries and travel news, as well as a resource for purchasing hotel and airline reservations.

Travelers can plan trips to key Pride festival locations or events closer to home.

According to recent data from Orbitz, hotel searches for Pride weekends have already increased by more than double digits when compared to 2018, along with a significant increase in flight searches and Pride package considerations. In fact, when asked directly in an online survey, 79 percent of LGBTQ travelers plan to attend this year’s Pride events with a group. Hotels (57 percent) and car shares (54 percent) are the travel accommodations most likely to be booked for Pride celebrations in 2019.1

“More travelers than ever before will be celebrating love and equality in some of the most gay-friendly cities across the country this year,” said Carey Malloy, director of Brand Marketing for Orbitz Brand. “With this being a milestone year for Pride, our message to travelers is now is the time to plan your trip while accommodations are in high demand.”

Pride Travelers are Out in the World

From east to west, LGBTQ travelers have visited a range of gay-friendly cities throughout the United States, with San Francisco (13 percent), New York (11 percent) and Chicago (10 percent) ranking as the top three destinations based on a recent survey by Orbitz. Nearly half of respondents confirmed they plan to travel between five and 50 miles for a Pride event in 2019, and 42 percent plan to travel more than 50 miles. Three in four (74 percent) of LGBTQ travelers also said that knowing whether a destination is Pride-friendly impacts their decision on where to travel.

Based on hotel inventory in key Pride-friendly destinations, recent flight prices and travel searches, the top 10 cities to celebrate 2019 Pride according to Orbitz are: Provincetown, Mass., St. Petersburg, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., Long Beach, Calif., New York City, N.Y., Minneapolis, Minn., Columbus, Ohio, Miami, Fla., Houston, Texas and San Francisco, Calif.

In addition to being one of the top 10 destinations to celebrate Pride based on Orbitz data and recent search demand, Miami Beach is known as an award-winning LGBTQ destination and kicked off Pride season during the first week of April. In fact, Orbitz sent a small delegation from Alaska to Miami Beach Pride Week and Parade. The group of four Anchorage Pride members traveled 5,000 miles together, trading the Alaska snow for sand, to embrace Miami’s city-wide Pride festivities first-hand. Orbitz sponsored the Anchorage Pride group to reward and recognize them for the positive impact they have had on their local LGBTQ community, while also connecting with people who share their same passion and Pride, despite the vastly different destinations.

To further spotlight the 2019 Pride celebration, Orbitz will be changing its logo to the rainbow “O” for the month of June.

Orbitz’s Travel Survey Highlights:

  • Social media (82 percent) and feedback from friends, family and peers (69 percent) are the main sources from which LGBTQ travelers are most likely to hear about Pride events.
  • Nearly three in four (74 percent) Pride travelers say knowing whether or not a place is LGBTQ friendly impacts their decision to travel there.
  • 67 percent of LGBTQ travelers say the experience is the most important consideration when traveling for Pride; while 17 percent say it’s location and 10 percent are most cognizant of price.
  • LGBTQ travelers are looking for the best Pride discounts and deals; nearly one in three (30 percent) are looking to spend less than $100 on travel and accommodations.
  • ¹Hotels (57 percent) and ride or car shares (54 percent) are the travel accommodations most likely to be booked for 2019 Pride events.
  • 80 percent of LGBTQ travelers would forgo their cell phone during Pride in exchange for free tickets, meals and hotel accommodations for the weekend.
  • From their experience, the most Pride-friendly cities LGBTQ travelers have visited include San Francisco (13 percent), New York City (11 percent) and Chicago (10 percent).
  • Nearly half of LGBTQ travelers (47 percent) will travel between five and 50 miles for a Pride event in 2019, and 42 percent will travel more than 50 miles.
  • Pride travelers are split on where to sit; more than half (53 percent) would rather get front row at the Pride parade while 47 percent would rather travel first class for Pride.
  • According to LGBTQ travelers, the top U.S. destinations for celebrating Pride include Boston, Miami, San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles.
  • Approximately 79 percent of Pride travelers are planning to attend this year’s events with a group, with most wanting to attend with their best friend (81 percent).
  • Nearly half (47 percent) of LGBTQ travelers expressed that their ex is the companion they would least want to go with to Pride.
  • More than 30 percent of LGBTQ travelers say Ellen DeGeneres is the celebrity they would most like to travel with for Pride; 24 percent would prefer to travel with Lady Gaga and 15 percent would like to travel with the cast from “Queer Eye” or the Obamas.
  • And, DeGeneres, RuPaul, Barack Obama and Janelle Monáe were the top picks from nearly half of respondents (47 percent) for who they would like to see as this year’s Pride grand marshall.

For more information, visit orbitz.com/blog/pride/ and orbitz.com/Pride.

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