This week, Max Kelerstein, Social Media Expert, Chilango (Native of Mexico City), and Travel Aficionado living in NYC, brings our readers the gay friendly side of Israel. Kelerstein currently works for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide within their 360 Digital Influence group and you can follow him @TheMaxK.
When you think of Israel, you may not think of Tel Aviv as the gay friendly capital of the Middle East, but it certainly has developed itself as the most tolerant city in the region. Quickly becoming much more popular, especially now that tourist destinations are realizing the spending power that the gay demographic represents. With a staggering spending power of $743 billion in 2010, according to Witeck-Combs Communications and Packaged Facts, destinations are finding that catering to the gay traveler can also be very profitable.
I recently traveled with my family to Tel Aviv, Israel this past September. Although we weren’t there to partake in the gay travel scene, I ventured out to see what gay-related things there were to do in the city. Normally I do this for every new place I go, simply in the off chance that I want to go to a venue where I can meet people I can relate to, and to get a sense of how gay-friendly the area is in case I want to go with my partner. To my surprise, Tel Aviv is a booming gay-friendly destination.
With a simple Google search, I was able to find one of the best gay destination sites I’ve ever encountered. Gay Tel Aviv Guide promotes GLBT tourism to the city and does a fantastic, even fabulous, job at it. It lets you know what things are happening in each calendar day, what kind of people go to each place, it even goes as far as to let you know what each bar and restaurant is good for, if it has specials, and which hours are the best. If I had any questions about where to go, this site had all the answers. Another convenient website is, Guide Gay Tel Aviv (www.serguapos.com).
Did I mention they even have a map of the gay spots in the city? I was able to find the nearest spots to where I was staying. All in all, this website showed me how great and easy it is for a tourist destination, like Tel Aviv, to attract and convince gay travelers that they should visit. One thing is for sure, Tel Aviv has jumped to the top of my list for when I want to vacation with my partner. Now if only other destinations can take Gay Tel Aviv Guide as an example, it will surely boost their favorability with gay travelers.
JAUNT MAGAZINE 
Very nice. I was there! I visited Israel two summers ago and really enjoyed it. I just posted an entry on my blog with my notes, pictures and favorite things about the country.
http://caseykurlander.wordpress.com/
Casey
Cool! We’ll be sure to check it out. Thanks for the props 🙂