Marriage Equality Brings $259 Million To New York In First Year

via James Arkin, New York Daily News

A study by the city’s tourism agency, NYC & Company, and the City Clerk’s office estimates $259 million in overall economic impact came from same-sex marriages.

“Marriage equality has made our City more open, inclusive and free — and has also helped to create jobs and support our economy,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “New York has always been a great place to get married and since the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, we’re welcoming more and more couples, their families and friends from around the country and world.”

Though couples are not required to register sex on marriage licenses, 58,136 voluntarily identified themselves as heterosexual couples and 7,184 as same-sex couples, according to clerk’s office records. Of the latter, 3,898 were males and 3,286 were females.

The economic impact of the nuptials comes from everything from the rental of venues, hotel rooms, announcement printings and the purchase of wedding favors.

More than 201,000 guests traveled to from outside NYC to attend same-sex marriage ceremonies, booking more than 235,000 hotel room nights at an average rate of $275 a day, the survey found.

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