DOWN A SIDE STREET off Lan Kwai Fong, travel agent Graham Elsom is offering packages that give a whole new meaning to the term 'special'. The name of the agency is rather unfortunate, Concorde Travel, but unlike the ill-fated supersonic jet that has been grounded, this Concorde is hoping to take off, selling gay tours.
Want to go to the Sydney Mardi Gras? Elsom can guarantee grandstand tickets for the gay and lesbian parade. A cabin for two on an all-gay cruise in the Caribbean? No worries, says the Australian.
And just in case potential customers are nervous about coming out of the closet to discuss their travel needs, Elsom is helping to smooth the way by employing gay consultants. There are several among his 27 staff at the eighth-floor On Lan Street office.
Concorde Travel is no newcomer to the package scene. Elsom has been selling quality tours and tailor-made holidays for 'straight' customers since he launched the business in Hong Kong 23 years ago. But the region's economic collapse in 1998 spelled disaster for the travel industry, and a cut-price package war saw many go out of business.
It still hurts, but Elsom believes gay package deals could fill up the coffers again - if Hong Kong Chinese can throw off the shackles of a culture still immersed in conservatism. Pink dollar tourism is earning millions in the West and Australia. Cruise lines, airlines, guide book companies and even Walt Disney are cashing in by catering for the massive gay and lesbian market.
'There are literally thousands of travel agents in Hong Kong and it is very tough going because the margins on air tickets and tours are small,' says Elsom. 'Gay tourism is an area I would like to develop in Hong Kong. In Europe, the US and Australia, business is huge in this field. There is a large gay community in Hong Kong, but though things are changing and we have a lot more gay clubs and bars, and even a gay radio station, the old taboos still remain.