Illusive Inclusion: Destination-marketing, managing Gay Pride events and the problem with cosmopolitan inclusivity

Abstract

As macro-level shifts in global capitalism push cities into increasing competition with one another, events play a vital role in tourism development. For locations seeking to differentiate themselves, ‘cosmopolitanism’, indicating a perceived openness towards cultural difference, has become key to contemporary destination marketing. Within this discourse, embracing LGBT+ communities has been successfully used to signal cosmopolitanism. LGBT+ Pride events combine both, providing tangible evidence of cosmopolitanism and consequently, a way to attract visitors, too. This article, however, complicates this relationship through an investigation of Pride within the tourist town of Sitges, in Spain. The findings here show that instead of exemplifying cosmopolitan inclusivity, Sitges Pride ultimately functioned to exclude parts of the same community that it purported to represent. In so doing, the article suggests that Sitges' Destination Management Organisation, the local council, and event organisers need to make sure Pride is inclusive and attempts to appeal to all constituents.