Atlantis Events

Atlantis Events is an LGBT vacation company that provides LGBT cruises and resort vacations. A 2017 book on LGBT tourism described it as "the most successful LGBT tour operator in the world".^[1] Their vacations are designed and marketed primarily for gay men.^[2]

Atlantis Events

Company type	LGBT travel
Industry	LGBT tourism
Founded	1991
Headquarters	West Hollywood, California , US
Key people	Rich Campbell (CEO and co-founder)
Products	cruises, resorts, related products
Website	atlantisevents.com

Party on the Oasis of the Seas during an Atlantis Events Mediterranean cruise in August 2019

History

Atlantis Events was founded in 1991 to organize resort vacations, beginning with an event at the Club Med resort at Playa Blanca in Costa Careyes, Jalisco, Mexico.^[3][4] The company began chartering cruise ships in 1998.^[5] In October 2007, Atlantis acquired competitor RSVP Vacations from RSVP's parent company, PlanetOut.^[6]

The company's tours have sometimes experienced negative reactions from anti-gay officials at their destinations.^[7] In December 1997, an Atlantis Events cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line's MS Leeward was denied permission make a planned February 1998 stop at Grand Cayman. Caymanian official Thomas C. Jefferson wrote to the cruise line that the cruise's passengers would not "uphold the standards of appropriate behavior expected of visitors".^[8] The ship docked in Belize instead.^[9] In September 2000, Turkish police blocked Atlantis guests from visiting the Aegean resort town Kuşadası, after the ship was already docked.^[10]

Destinations

Typical cruise itineraries for Atlantis are to the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Pacific coast of Mexico, and Australia. Typical locations for land resort vacations are Mexico and the Caribbean.^[11] Other destinations – which have included cruises in areas such as Alaska, Asia, and the Baltic, and land vacations in Las Vegas and Kenya – are offered less frequently.

See also

• LGBT marketing

References

1. Guaracino, Jeff; Salvato, Ed (2017). Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality: A Guide for Business Practice. New York: Columbia University Press. Section 3H. ISBN 978-1-939594-19-8.
2. Shirley, John (March 10, 2007). "On This Love Boat, Anything Goes". Calgary Herald (Final ed.). p. F1 – via ProQuest.
3. Van Gorder, Bryan (March 9, 2016). "Twenty-Five and Still Cruising". The Advocate.
4. McElroy, Steven (April 10, 2015). "On a Gay Cruise, Just One of the Guys". The New York Times.
5. Pae, Peter (October 12, 2008). "How I Made It: Rich Campbell; Gay Getaways' Go-to Guy". Los Angeles Times. p. C.2 – via ProQuest.
6. Hilton, Spud (October 28, 2007). "Atlantis Purchases Rival Gay Line". South Florida Sun. p. 7 – via ProQuest.
7. Hughes, Howard L. (2006). Pink Tourism: Holidays of Gay Men and Lesbians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: CABI. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-1-84593-076-9.
8. Mozingo, Joe; Clary, Mike (January 8, 1998). "Port's Refusal to Allow Gay Tour Sparks Outcry". Los Angeles Times (Home ed.). p. 3 – via ProQuest.
9. Wade, Betsy (February 1, 1998). "Banned From Caymans, Gay Cruise Visits Belize". The New York Times. p. 5.3.
10. Marquis, Christopher (September 7, 2000). "Turkish Police Bar Gay Americans From Visiting Aegean Port". The New York Times. p. A.6.
11. Hughes, Howard L. (2006). Pink Tourism: Holidays of Gay Men and Lesbians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: CABI. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-1-84593-076-9.

External links

• Official website