Symposium to look at gay, lesbian travel industry

Scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Kyle Morrow Room
of Fondren Library, the symposium is open to the public
and will provide a forum for scholars, business leaders
and journalists to discuss the present conditions, potential
problems and future possibilities of the GLBT travel industry.
Topics to be discussed range from how particular destinations
become known internationally as “gay” hot spots
to the effects of tourism marketed to lesbians and gays.

Keynote addresses will be presented by Dennis Altman, Department
of Politics, La Trobe University, Australia, and Jasbir
Puar, Women’s Studies Program, Department of Geography,
Rutgers University.

Participating in roundtable discussions will be Alan Wells,
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston;
Coy Tow, the Greater Houston GLBT Chamber of Commerce; Kim
Gustavsson, Concierge Travel; Richard Todd, River Oaks Travel;
Alan Borgeois, the Galveston Gay and Lesbian Chamber of
Commerce; and Christa Buggey, the Galveston Island Convention
and Visitors Bureau. Audience participation is encouraged.

To register for the symposium, contact one of the co-coordinators:
anthropology graduate student Brian Riedel, (713) 348-3893
or <riedelbs@rice.edu>,
or English graduate student Liz Fenton, <efenton@rice.edu>.
A limited number of boxed lunches will be available for
purchase during noon hour.