Posted on 12/06/2014 6:55:29 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
To have and to hold and to hitch it up in the Sunshine State: That's the honeymoon-swoon allure of a new Visit Tampa Bay ad campaign created in anticipation of Florida soon eradicating a ban on same-sex marriage.
Earlier this week, a federal appeals court ruled that a stay in the state's ban on same-sex nuptials will be lifted Jan. 5 because of the ban's unconstitutionality.
If that holds up, Visit Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County's nonprofit tourism branch, would "almost immediately" court betrothed-minded LGBT folks with its glossy new "To Have and To Hold" blitz. There will be matrimonial-specific print ads in the Northeast, the Middle Atlantic, Ohio and Texas; digital ads in Chicago and Dallas; and conquerwithpride.com, a microsite listing local events, hotels and services.
"We've had this campaign ready for a while," Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, said on the phone from Chile, where he was trumpeting the joys of the bay area to South American executives.
Corrada said his team commenced work on the "progressive" campaign after the city of Tampa created a domestic partnership registry in 2012, and then Hillsborough County followed suit this year. This is Visit Tampa Bay's second ad outreach aimed at enticing the gay community into vacationing here.
This ad campaign — its subtitle is "Our Treasures Are Yours" — adds yet another selling point for the gay community to drop vacation dollars in Tampa Bay. Not only is St. Pete Pride — scheduled for June 26 to 28 — one of the biggest LGBT celebrations in the eastern United States, with more than 100,000 revelers last year, but now Tampa will fire up the party machine March 28 at Pride Parade & Festival in Ybor City.
If the ban is lifted Jan. 5, the economic impact is expected to be significant. After same-sex marriages were allowed in New York City, the Big Apple issued 8,200 gay marriage licenses — and generated $259 million in gay marriage-related spending.
Something similar could be felt here. According to a University of California at Los Angeles study promoted by Equality Florida, a political advocacy group, the numbers are impressive. Solely based on LGBT Floridians getting married in Florida, some $182.2 million could be spent, with $117 million of that in the first year alone. That doesn't even include visitors from out of state. The study also said "up to 2,626 jobs would be created" to keep up with so many people tying the knot.
I think WPB is a shit hole as well (per capita, probably worse). Tampa isn’t even on the Gulf. It’s on a bay.
Jupiter is a crap hole full of new yorkers. Take a hike
Glad you feel that way. lol
Tampa is a great place. Lived here for 40 years. The gays just pollute where ever they go with their gayness.
Now St. Pete across the bay is a Sh*thole.
Tampa is a wonderful city ... Nothing at all like CA. I lived there for almost 30 years, and still consider it home.
Tampa itself is not infected. This is more politically correct bureaucrats trying to prove how hip they are.
Crackers are still the majority, though there are progressive elements and idiots everywhere.
Substitute some words for the last line of “The Lost Boys”.
Florida is great except for all the damn zombies (libs, homos etc)
I live in Clearwater. The last two times I went to Honeymoon Island with my kids I had to divert their attention from lesbians making out.
Haven’t been back since.
Don’t ever make the mistake of finding yourself in Wilton Manors (Ft. Lauderdale). A once nice little community is now SF East.
I always thought metro Tampa was a motley mix of transplanted Midwesterners, blacks, Cubans, Ricans, and Italians. Some crackers are still in the northern suburbs. I now live in Lee County and the crackers are an endangered species (a good or bad thing depending on whether one finds bar fights and girls named Tammy attractive).
When I was living in Miami (1999-2002), Wilton Manors was the only city in America with an all-gay city council. FWIW: I believe that not a single municipality in Broward County voted for Romney.
I would have to say that crackers are a motley mix, but I like them better than the faux hipsters. Though, I’m a little old for bar fights, and prefer Savannah over Tammy.
We visit Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Naples. No problems.
LOL. The only time I’m there is when I go to a Lightning game or a Fan Fest.
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