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.
THE CURRENT STATE OF LGBT TRAVEL
by david duran
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 destina- tions, 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 As- sociation) 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 were present like Fort Lauderdale, FL, Ontario, Canada, and Brazil, 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.”
MAY 2016 | RAGE monthly 33
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