NY Travel Expo to Feature Gay Travel Panels (from www.gayapolis.com)

If you've got the travel bug, be sure to be at the Javits Convention Center in New York City February 27-28 for the New York Times Travel Show and expo.

With over 500 exhibiting companies, five Regions of the World Pavilion Stages, seven Travel Trade Conferences featuring 34 conference sessions, the Travel Industry Reception, 24 Consumer Conference sessions, and the Tourism Cares live auction benefiting the September 11 Memorial and Museum Fund, there will be no shortage of informative avenues to help you hone your knowledge and skills as a jet-set world traveler.

Most important, don't miss the two LGBT conferences that weekend cohosted by PlanetOut Travel contributor and gay travel guru Ed Salvato and friends. The world's foremost gay and lesbian travel experts will update you on the world's gay-friendliest destinations, hotels, cruises, airlines, and more. Attendees will also have access to special deals and offers available exclusively to gay travel panel audience members.

If you've got the travel bug, be sure to be at the Javits Convention Center in New York City February 27-28 for the New York Times Travel Show and expo.

With over 500 exhibiting companies, five Regions of the World Pavilion Stages, seven Travel Trade Conferences featuring 34 conference sessions, the Travel Industry Reception, 24 Consumer Conference sessions, and the Tourism Cares live auction benefiting the September 11 Memorial and Museum Fund, there will be no shortage of informative avenues to help you hone your knowledge and skills as a jet-set world traveler.

Most important, don't miss the two LGBT conferences that weekend cohosted by PlanetOut Travel contributor and gay travel guru Ed Salvato and friends. The world's foremost gay and lesbian travel experts will update you on the world's gay-friendliest destinations, hotels, cruises, airlines, and more. Attendees will also have access to special deals and offers available exclusively to gay travel panel audience members.

Read the Full Story：www.gayapolis.com

New York City Gay Men's Chorus in Financial Trouble (from www.towleroad.com)

The New York City Gay Men's Chorus is struggling to stay afloat due to "severe financial problems" according to a press release from the group, which was founded in 1979 and was the first gay chorus to perform in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, the first American gay chorus to tour Europe, and the first to have a recording contract with a major label.

The findings come from a study of 96,128 men, 66 years or older, who underwent cataract surgery in Ontario, Canada from 2002 to 2007. Of these patients, 3550 had taken tamsulosin within 14 days of surgery and 7426 had recent taken other so-called alpha-blocking agents.

Said Rick Clodfelter, Chairman of the Board of Big Apple Performing Arts, Inc., the umbrella organization for the NYCGMC: “Like so many nonprofit arts organizations in this economic downturn, we are hurting. Decreasing donations, limited resources and the rising costs of production make it more difficult than ever for a community arts organization to survive. Our goal is to raise $500,000 to enable us to retire debt, proceed with our 30th season and ensure we are better positioned to advocate for equality in the future...Artistically, we are the best we’ve been in years due to the direction of Dr. Charles Beale, former director of the London Gay Men’s Chorus, who joined us two years ago. However, NYCGMC has always been about much more than putting singers on a stage. At a time when LGBT visibility wasn’t as prevalent as it is today, the Chorus provided an opportunity for New Yorkers to see out, proud gay men on stage. Today that seems commonplace, but thirty years ago, it was revolutionary. And just as the LGBT movement has evolved, today the Chorus voices its support for marriage equality, LGBTQ youth support and other issues relevant to the community."

Read the Full Story：www.towleroad.com/

Gay Tel Aviv (from Cleveland Indy Media Center)

NEW YORK - Tel Aviv welcomes gay tourists

It's not the first image that comes to mind when you think of the Middle East.

Thousands of gay people and their supporters marching through streets decorated with rainbow flags to a beach packed for a gay pride festival. But that was the scene last weekend in Tel Aviv as Israel's Mediterranean metropolis greeted its 11th Pride celebration that is coinciding this year with the city's 100th birthday.

Tel Aviv is one of the most gay-friendly cites in the world. Although there are no official numbers, estimates put the gay population at anywhere from 15 percent to 30 percent. The city's population is estimated at 391,000.

That political clout has translated into the city building and fully funding its LGBT center and footing the bill for the Pride parade. Tel Aviv's mayor, Ron Huldai, told the Bay Area Reporter last week that his city very much welcomes gay tourism.

When hearing that this reporter was from San Francisco, Huldai said, "You are the capital of the [gay] community."

When asked if he had ever been to San Francisco, Huldai, said, "Yes, I like San Francisco very much."

Gays in Tel Aviv are not only protected by the city government, but by the Israeli government.

Read the Full Story：Cleveland Indy Media Center

Dutchess receives $1.4 million in HIV/AIDS funding (from www.midhudsonnews.com)

POUGHKEEPSIE - Dutchess County has been awarded more than $1.4 million for the development and expansion systems of care to meet the primary care needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS, including racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately impacted.

“Dutchess County has been a proactive participant in the national Ryan White initiative to mitigate the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” said County Executive William Steinhaus. “These funds enable us to maintain the community capacity we have built and provide the needed services that would be difficult to achieve relying solely on our local budget funds.”

The awards include $1.3 million from the 2009 PART A Title I funding stream of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006, and $115,000 made available through the Minority AIDS Initiative of the same Act.

The Ryan White Program was amended in December 2006, when Congress established a new competitive Minority AIDS Initiative grant program in response to the growing and disproportionate impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in some minority communities. The most recent data available from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows racial and ethnic minorities represent the highest number of new AIDS cases nationwide, and 70 percent of people living with AIDS. HIV disease has become a leading cause of death for African Americans.

Read the Full Story：www.midhudsonnews.com

New York City Launches Gay-Friendly Travel Deals (from travel.latimes.com)

New York City's marketing arm is reaching out in an international effort to promote gay travel to the Big Apple. NY1's Valarie D'Elia filed the following report.

The arches of the rainbow will be spanning the continents this year as NYC & Company embarks on a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to solidify the city's place as the number one destination for gay and lesbian travel.

The Big Apple commands almost one quarter share of all gay leisure travel and has a reputation for being very gay-friendly.

The "Rainbow Pilgrimage" initiative is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, which sparked the Gay Rights movement and the resulting Gay Pride Celebration that takes place annually in late June.

The tourism campaign will reach out domestically as well, to the gay market in Canada, Great Britain and Spain. It will emphasize a visit to New York as a "rite of passage" for the gay and lesbian traveler.

A special micro website includes listings of gay landmarks, gay-friendly restaurants, clubs and a calendar of events, as well as a Travelocity booking engine.

Now here's a D'Elia's Deal you don't want to miss to make a rainbow pilgrimage visit to New York City. Buy one night at any one of 26 participating New York City hotels or one ticket to an attraction or Broadway show and get the second for half off.

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Read the Full Story：travel.latimes.com

As America’s seventh largest city, San Diego ranks fifth as the most visited – and for good reason. With the best climate in North America, averaging 70 degrees year-round, it sits like a painting with the Pacific Ocean at its feet and puffy white clouds hanging overhead. And it’s gay friendly, making it the perfect spot to take your honey to, or suggest he take you to.

Sure, it’s got Sea World, and Tijuana is just a taxi ride away, but this beach city is also home to the nation’s only gay surf club (eye candy alert!) and tons of shopping. Oh, and there’s lots of culture, including the city’s world famous Balboa Park, which houses museums, horticulture and America’s best zoo.

The best places to rest your head and make your base at are in the historic Gaslamp district. We recommend the Lofts on 5th Avenue at the Hilton in the Gaslamp Quarter (hilton.com). The 30 unique, private “hotel within a hotel” lofts are spacious, hip and regal without being stuffy. We love the in-room spa tubs for two, and suspect even Paris would proclaim this place as “hot.” Head Concierge Mike Denton will steer you toward boys’ town’s best, a short cab ride up to Hillcrest.

Read the Full Story：www.gaytravelnews.com

In the aftermath of 9-11 attacks in 2001, gays were among the first to board planes and travel, providing a lifeline for South Florida tourism. Marketers swooned over the resilience of gay tourists, who tend not to have children and generally travel more than average.

But in today's global recession, even gays are cutting back on trips. While lesbians and gay men still travel more than most, they too are reducing the frequency of their holidays, the days they stay and how much they spend, often booking last-minute to secure value deals.

South Florida, home to three major U.S. destinations for gays in Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach and Key West, also finds more rivals chasing the lucrative gay market, especially advertising powerhouse Las Vegas.

The upshot: South Florida's travel industry can't count on as many gay travel dollars this year.

"No segment of the market is immune today — not gays and not luxury travelers," said Nicki E. Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Nationwide, gay travel is conservatively estimated at 5 percent of U.S. travel spending, or about $70 billion last year, according to San Francisco-based Community Marketing, which specializes in gay travel research.

In South Florida, the impact is greater. Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports estimates that gays account for 10 percent of visitor spending, or roughly $1 billion last year, the tourism bureau said. Gays say they enjoy the area's easy access, warm weather and the active resident gay community that operates more than 150 businesses geared toward gays.

But gay hotelier Roger Handevidt, owner of the 14-unit Orton Terrace in Fort Lauderdale, can testify to tough times now. His hotel had 12 percent more rooms empty in December than a year earlier, and he's sweetened deals to lure guests this winter: three nights paid, one free.

Read the Full Story：www.palmbeachpost.com