Every day Eureka Springs neglects to market its off-beat charms to gay travelers--as well as its traditional demographic--it falls farther behind in its quest for a thriving tourist economy.

Why? Because competition for the rainbow dollar is becoming downright intense. Now, Pittsburgh, of all places, has launched a campaign to get a piece of the $65 BILLION gay and lesbian travel pie.

«Statistics tell us there is a lot of money to be had . . . ,» Beverly Morrow-Jones of Visit Pittsburgh told WTAE TV news yesterday. « . . . Just like everybody else, the gay and lesbian community wants to be welcomed,» she said.

Well, duh. Eureka Springs has been a welcoming gay and lesbian destination for decades. And we have at least two advantages Pittsburgh doesn't--a Domestic Partnership Registry (with no residency requirement) that has already drawn visitors from 11 states and four Diversity Weekends a year. Not to mention a superior climate.

And, apparently, Pittsburgh's Best Western motels think it's just fabulous that the city is actively marketing itself as «this friendly or that friendly . . .»

But Pittsburgh isn't the only rust-belt city chasing gay travelers. Would you believe Minneapolis and Bloomington, IN are also in the race? How about New Haven, CT? And then there's Philadelphia. It's spending almost $1 million over three years to lure gay and lesbian tourists with this catchy slogan: «Get your history straight and your night life gay.»

«Given Philadelphia's history of diversity and its thriving gay community, marketing to gay and lesbian travelers was good common sense--and good business sense,» a tourism official told the New York Times.

If only we had thought of that first, because it sounds like Eureka Springs, doesn't it? Well, except maybe for the «good business sense» part. This town is drenched in diversity and history. And art. And fine dining and charm-chocked lodgings. And mountain scenery and spas. And . . .

And it has a «thriving» gay and gay-friendly community.

Even Las Vegas has a gay/lesbian marketing program. And yet, the wedding business there has not be «stung» by the effort, the oft repeated accusation heard here.

While Bible Belt cities may be lagging, more and more are getting in line. Atlanta and New Orleans have aggressive advertising campaigns aimed at gay tourists. They're giving been-there-done-that Key West, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach a run for their money.

And then there's Dallas. According the Associated Press, the Big D convention and visitors bureau spends $50,000 a year of its $14 million budget to attract gay tourists. «We'd be foolish not to position Dallas as a destination for this market, which spends a lot of money on travel,» a spokesman said.

«It's not about being politically correct,» he continued, «it's about being economically correct.»

Bingo!

The Dallas tourism bureau's web site, the AP says, lists «more than 20 gay-friendly hotels, shopping areas, tourist attractions and night clubs.»

Only 20? Eureka Springs has at least two to three times that number. We have in place the vital infrastructure to cater to gay and lesbian tourists who, according to one national survey after another, travel more than heterosexuals and spend more.

Eureka Springs also has what almost 50 percent of gay and lesbian travelers surveyed say they want most, according to the New York Times: A place with a reputation of being gay-friendly and «known to be culturally welcoming and to support diversity» and gay civil rights.

In the Mid-South region of the country, Eureka Springs IS that place.

And it's high time the City Advertising and Promotion Commission,  the Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Co-op come out of the closet and acknowledge that the gay and lesbian market can be a profitable part of the mosaic of tourism upon which the economy of our town depends.

It works in other places, from coast to coast and border to border. Why not here?

The answer is, it can work here. And, as soon as the erosion of archaic social and business attitudes picks up, it will work here.

The only unthinkable alternative is for those who have a stranglehold on advertising and marketing to continue to keep company with the moths and let outfits like the American Family Association do their jobs for them.

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