Mexico City enacts region`s 1st gay marriage law

Mexico City: Mexico City enacted Latin America`s first law recognising gay marriage today and said it hopes to attract same-sex couples from around the world to wed.

The law, approved by city legislators on December 21, was published in Mexico City`s official register today and will take effect in March. It will allow same-sex couples to adopt children and municipal officials say it will make Mexico`s capital a "vanguard city" and attract extra tourism revenues. "Mexico City will become a centre, where (gay) people from all over the world will be able to come and have their wedding, and then spend their honeymoon here," said Alejandro Rojas, the city tourism secretary. "We are already in talks with some travel agencies that are planning to offer package tours that include flights, hotels, guides, and everything they need for the wedding, like banquets," said Rojas. "We are going to become a city on a par with Venice or San Francisco" -- the current leader in the gay travel market segment. The annual economic impact of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travellers is about USD 70 billion in the United States alone, according to Community Marketing Inc, a tourism research company that specialises in gay and lesbian consumers. PTI