The Current State of LGBT Travel

The travel industry has seriously been targeting the LGBT travel market segment big time lately. I think the world has finally woken up to the fact that LGBT travelers are just like any other type of traveler, meaning they spend money, too. The realities are, the LGBT traveler often does spend more money on vacations, and tourism boards across the globe are realizing they need to reach out and get those bucks.

So, how can these tourism boards from countries such as South Africa promise the safety of LGBT travelers coming to visit? They can't. But really, should that stop us from visiting? In the case of South Africa, where by the way, I never felt unsafe due to my sexual orientation (at least in the places I visited), the Minister brought up some valid points that should be considered when planning travel to places that might not necessarily be waving the rainbow flags. (Although the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, the host hotel for the convention, did have a special rainbow flag proudly flying out front of its grand entrance throughout the duration of the conference.)

Personally, I never considered myself a gay traveler, but instead I have always thought of myself as a traveler who happens to be gay. I fly on average 150,000 miles per year, visiting places all over the world for work, and most of the time, I am there collecting data and information for the consumer that reads non-LGBT travel publications, so I've adapted to not always being on the lookout for the gay bars and or "gay friendly" anything while on trips -- not that there is anything wrong, if in fact that's the type of traveler you are.

The majority of LGBT travelers do seek out gay hotels and or gay friendly cities, and a lot of that has to do with feeling safe and confident in their surroundings. But throughout my travels, I've discovered others like myself, who identify as some form of LGBT, who love going to all sorts of destinations, even those that are considered dangerous to us, and others that are just flat out dangerous to everyone.

I've just returned from the annual IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association) Conference, which was held in Cape Town, South Africa, and beyond being in one of the most beautiful countries in the world - where the men are ridiculously gorgeous (my personal views) - there were tons of important words being spoken over the course of the conference. Representatives from LGBT-friendly destinations like Fort Lauderdale, FL, Ontario, Canada, and Brazil were present, but it was the South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom himself who promptly brought up the elephant in the room during his welcome address.

"So, as much as I would like to, I cannot promise you that wherever you go in South Africa, as LGBT people, that you will be accepted by everyone. What I can promise you is that you will experience warmth and a depth of human belonging that you are unlikely to find anywhere else on the planet," he said. "I can't promise you that you won't experience prejudice, or racism, or sexism or homophobia. But what I can promise you is that you will be treated respectfully as a fellow traveller on this, our human journey.

"What I can say without any shadow of a doubt is that, as a country, we need you and want you here," continued Hanekom. "Not because of who we are, but because of who you are. Because of the struggles you have faced, and because of the brave (or even the ordinary) lives that you lead. We need you because you bring experience and challenge into our lives - and we have never been afraid of either. We need you because, in many instances, you bring a new way of looking at things - a new and exciting way of living, which has always been part of our South African life, but frequently ignored, or disparaged, or violently rejected. We want you here to be a light to the millions of LGBT people in our country, so that wherever they are, they might know that they are not alone - that they are quite normal and that they should live their lives unafraid. For that is the kind of country we are trying to build."

In countries like South Africa, gay travelers are welcomed in most parts and the only real danger faced is that of being discriminated against. But haven't we all faced a bit of discrimination at some point throughout our lives? The only way to change attitudes of people in countries like South Africa is to engage with them and show them that LGBT travelers are travelers, meaning we are people, too. Abandoning or boycotting countries that aren't flying rainbow flags is, in a way, abandoning or boycotting the LGBT residents of that city or country, and the Minister's words confirming this couldn't have been stated any better.

Now, when it comes to countries where there are outright laws against homosexuality and or things related... I am still one to go to them. Not because I want to be adventurous or daring, but because I am all about traveling to lands and places I have never been to. If you also happen to want to visit countries that are not welcoming to LGBT visitors there is only one rule that I follow, and that's simply to respect the laws of the land where I'm standing. Listen, it's not about your American privilege when you are overseas, it's about knowing your place when you are in a foreign land. For avid travelers and seekers of new things, people and places to see, whom you sleep with really shouldn't interfere with your travel plans. From personal experience, there are gay people everywhere -- just download Grindr and see for yourselves. But when I'm in the Middle East, for example, I am careful about trusting strangers online, only because the risks are definitely greater there.

I recently visited Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, all relatively safe countries and although I wasn't specifically there for anything gay-related, I still managed to find some time to meet a few locals, who quickly caught me up on what it's like to be gay in this part of the world. In Qatar, I ended up at two bars that were frequented by gay men, and a new friend in Bahrain, organized a small dinner with a few of his gay friends at my hotel so that I could
get some more insight into their lives. What I found out was that they are just living their lives while following the laws. It was truly about knowing what you can and can't do in public, and once I learned how simple those rules were I was more at ease and opened up to being myself and just enjoying my exploration of these incredible countries.

The takeaway here is that yes, while gay-friendly cities and countries are pretty amazing and, yes, while there are cruises and weekends dedicated to LGBT travelers, just because you happen to identify outside of the heterosexual spectrum doesn't mean you have to limit yourself. Travel is travel, and there are some incredible places in this world that everyone should visit. Just do your research, be prepared and open yourself up to something new.