Nyc plans ‘i do’ tourism campaign to woo gay weddings

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to unveil a campaign to sell the most populous U.S. city as a gay-wedding destination after thousands marched to celebrate the state’s legalization of such marriages.

The “NYC I Do” campaign “will create millions of dollars in additional economic impact to the city’s $31 billion tourism industry,” Kimberly Spell, a spokeswoman for New York & Company, the city’s marketing office, said yesterday in an e- mail. Bloomberg will unveil more details in coming days, she said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law June 24 to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Republican- controlled state Senate approved it. Passage came about a month after a group of Democratic state senators issued a report finding New York stood to reap $391 million from areas including economic activity and tax revenue within three years.

With rainbow flags waving and throbbing dance music blaring, as many as 6,000 marchers in Manhattan’s annual Gay Pride parade celebrated yesterday. Once the law takes effect July 24, New York will become the sixth and most populous state to legalize same-sex marriage and more than double the number of Americans living in such states to 35 million.

Source: Bloomberg Business Week