First ever travel awards honoring the LGBT traveler’s favorite destinations

Logo, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks, announced today that TripOutGayTravel.com, its comprehensive travel site dedicated to the LGBT traveler and MTV Networks’ first stand-alone, travel-focused site,

Logo, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks, announced today that TripOutGayTravel.com, its comprehensive travel site dedicated to the LGBT traveler and MTV Networks’ first stand-alone, travel-focused site, announced the winners of its first ever “TripOut Gay Travel Awards.” The awards honor the most stylish, exciting, and hottest destinations and services that attract, pamper, and market to the LGBT traveler. The awards and winners will be officially celebrated tonight at a reception coinciding with the Community Marketing, Inc. 10th International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism in Boston, MA with select honorees in attendance to receive their award.

The “TripOut Gay Travel Awards” honor the destinations and travel services that deserve such unique titles including “Sexiest Place on Earth,” “Best Breakout Destination,” “Ultimate Luxury Hotel,” and “Best Gay Bar in the World” for the gay and lesbian community. TripOutGayTravel.com recruited an academy of seasoned writers, editors, and travel experts covering the LGBT travel market to comprise this year’s list of nominations. Over 100,000 votes were cast by the site’s dedicated readers and fans to determine the title for the best gay destination, tour operator hospitality service, and more. “The voting results showcase the places our community loves to visit, where and with whom they choose to spend their time and money, and which destinations and businesses truly excel in welcoming LGBT visitors,” said John Polly, TripOutGayTravel.com’s editor.

Reflecting Logo’s depth online and its continual commitment to the LGBT audience “The TripOut Gay Travel Awards” were supported by LOGOonline’s constellation of sites including LOGOonline.com, NewNowNext.com, and 365Gay.com. In addition, Logo’s monthly newsletters, TripOut Gay Travel and xoxoLogo, drove readers to vote online for their pick of the top LGBT travel destinations. In 2009, year-to-date average monthly unique visitors and average monthly video streams to the Logo constellation are up 11 percent and 111 percent, respectively, above the same time period in 2008 (Omniture).

TripOutGayTravel.com launched in May 2009 providing LGBT travelers with the latest on gay travel through its vast editorial features, deep destination guide content, and the web’s largest gay travel video library. The site also invites users to recommend and comment on destinations, as well as discuss the thousands of travel listings on the site. While TripOutGayTravel.com is part of Logo’s larger constellation of web properties, the site operates separately from LOGOonline.com. TripOutGayTravel.com marks the first stand-alone, travel-focused web property launched by MTV Networks.

The TripOutGayTravel.com community also has the ability to book their next trip through the site, which is powered by Travelocity’s booking engine. TripOutGayTravel.com provides a platform for travel aficionados to get informed and connect with other travel fanatics with user recommendations and a gay-friendly ratings system for travel destinations. Additionally the site features a daily travel blog, extensive travel video from LOGOonline.com, and editorial features such as “The World’s 10 Best Gay Beaches,, “Quick & Easy Romantic Road Trips,” and “The Most Historic LGBT Places in the US.”

As a proud partner of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), TripOutGayTravel.com showcases only the most trusted sources for gay travel planning. The site delivers a new style that creates a best-in-breed gay travel planning experience.

For more information about the nominees listed below, please go to TripOutGayTravel.com. A full list of winners for each category is listed below.

Best Global Destination (City or Country)
Rio de Janeiro

Best US Destination
New York City, New York

Best Airline
American

Best Hotel Chain (Collection)
W Hotels

Best LGBT Tour Operator
Atlantis Events

Best Annual Gay Destination Party or Event
Madrid Pride

Best Ultimate Luxury Hotel/Resort (Global)
Wynn Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV

Best Breakout Destination
Curacao, Dutch West Indies

Sexiest Place on Earth
Paris, the Marais

Best Gay Bar in the World
The Abbey, Los Angeles

The Gay+ Award for Achievement in Making our World Gayer
Richard Gray
“Richard Gray Consulting”

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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