Just days before Toronto kicks off its annual Pride Week celebrations, the city's tourism board has announced it's going all out in an effort to attract gay travellers from the United States. Tourism Toronto said Friday it has launched a “Gay Marketing Advisory Group” comprised of 12 local community leaders that will help sell the city to foreigners. “The gay travel market is one of the fastest-growing segments and is a $55 billion industry. This represents a major opportunity for Toronto,” said David Whitaker, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto. “Toronto offers a great deal to gay visitors, who tend to travel more often, stay longer and spend more in a destination.” The tourism board said it has boosted its marketing budget designated to gay travelers by 50 per cent to $300,000, targeting cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Plans include buying advertising in restaurants, bars and local gay publications, as well as sponsoring events. Tourism Toronto said that research has found that U.S. gay travellers are far more likely to hold passports. The board said that 71% of travellers that identified themselves as gay held a valid passport, almost three times the U.S. average of 24%. Last year more than a million people celebrated gay pride in Toronto. Ref: 365gay.com (m)