The director of the Orange County Visitors Bureau says that 2014 was a great year for tourism, with a record number of visitors to the county.

Laurie Paolicelli praises Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt for bringing the Mayors Innovation Project conference to town.

She tips her hat to Carrboro for opening a hotel, and for putting together some good touring packages. And she calls the opening of Riverwalk a transformation for Hillsborough.

Paolicelli says there’s one more thing that really helped tourism in Orange County go over the top in 2014: LGBT travelers.

“The whole LGBT movement has really caught on,” she says, “and I think in 2015, we’ll start making a lot of noise in that area.”

In early December, the Visitors Bureau launched a national campaign for LGBT travel.

“You know, when we started looking at that market segment five or six years ago, we were really convinced that we needed more of a gay-friendly town in terms of clubs, experiences, whatnot,” says Paolicelli. “But two things happened. What we’re really finding now with the LGBT travelers is that kids rule.

“Once gay globe trotters become parents, the importance of family-friendly trumps gay-friendly, when planning getaways. And then, of course, the amendment with marriage was really a game changer.”

Paolicelli adds that Chapel Hill and Carrboro, especially, are nationally known for upholding progressive ideals in North Carolina.

“Mayor Lavelle and her wife Alicia getting married, and really hosting a public ceremony – that made national news,” says Paolicelli. “Their photo was in the middle of Times Square. So, that was exciting.”

Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle and her longtime partner Alicia Stemper were the first same-sex couple to register for a wedding license in Orange County when Amendment One was struck down in October. They were married at Town Commons on October 25th.

Paolicelli says that led to a lot of inquiries from out-of-town couples inquiring about wedding information, and an escalation of honeymoons being booked in the area.

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