More Than 200,000 Expected For Gay Days
Posted by Gay News Desk at 10:32 AM. Filed under: Gay News
Businesses are seeing green because Gay Days is in full swing. Tuesday marks the start of the 16th annual event and more than 200,000 people are expected to spend millions of dollars this year.
They arrive with bags packed for a week of fun and excitement, and wallets ready to be emptied.
Gay Days is underway all across Central Florida. At the Parliament House hotel on Orange Blossom Trail, the decorations are already in place for this weekend’s concerts.
“It’s tremendous, 100,000 to 150,000 that come into Orlando, fill hotels. We’re already at capacity for the weekend,” said hotel owner Don Granatstein.
The owner of the Parliament House Hotel called Gay Days 10 days of insanity. Local business owners agree, saying the visitors in town this week plan on spending insane amounts of money.
“A lot, we already went shopping, we’re going again today,” said Derald Gingerich, who’s visiting from Tampa.
“We came here Wednesday. I’ve already spent $700,” said Daryl Barnes, of Michigan.
Gay Days has been an Orlando tradition since 1991, and tourists say it’s a lot more crowded than it was in years past. The dollars stretch from coast to coast, as visitors take in the parks and the beaches.
“I had the opportunity to come, dropped everything, said I’m taking off work. I’m coming,” Barnes said.
Gay Days runs through this weekend.
Source: cfnews13.com