Maui tended to be favored more by East Coast visitors, 45 percent of whom said they’d visited Maui on their last trip to Hawaii, as compared to West Coast visitors at 37 percent. The Hawai’i Tourism Authority said LGBT travel to Hawaii can be up to 6 percent of total visitors from both Japan and Canada, up to 7 percent of visitors from the West Coast and up to 9 percent of visitors from the East Coast. “I just think, being in such a diverse state, we understand discrimination, even if people aren’t from the LGBT community,” Tonnessen said. Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, for example, had a 41 percent friendliness rating, while the Bahamas got only 13 percent. While it’s lower than top-ranked places like Los Angeles at 89 percent and South Florida at 86 percent, Hawaii is much higher than a lot of international warm weather destinations. visitors ranked Hawaii as LGBT friendly (4 or 5 on a 5-point scale). “I think they just come here to enjoy paradise and knowing that we are an accepting community.”Ībout 70 percent of U.S. “I think people come here for the escape,” said Paul Tonnessen, president of LGBT group Maui Pride. Far fewer saw the islands as “a great LGBT destination” or a place to meet other LGBT people.įor travelers, Hawaii provides the perfect balance of natural attraction and welcoming spirit. study: most people were drawn to Hawaii’s scenery, its sense of relaxation and its wide range of exciting and unique activities.
residents 25 and older who had “a reasonable potential of visiting Hawaii” based on past visitor data. study, which contained the most Maui-specific data, researchers gathered information from 1,121 U.S.