WELCOME CHANGE

Ten years ago, I was a college student quietly — very quietly — dating women. I wasn’t out to my friends, my family or society in general. Same-sex marriage had only been legal in one state, Massachusetts, for four years, and that had drawn such fierce opposition that I worried it would never be legal on a national level.

It would take another seven years for the U.S. to legalize gay marriage. Even today, LGBTQ rights in this country have taken some steps backward, especially for the transgender community. Around the world, gay marriage is only legal in 24 countries. Many other countries criminalize simply being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer person, and in the most extreme cases, it is punishable by death.

Just about anywhere in the world, even in the most progressive countries, LGBTQ people still face opposition, whether it’s legally or attitudinally, and members of the community have to contend with that fact every time they travel.

And travel is something they do a lot. According to Community Marketing and Insights’ (CMI) 2017 Annual LGBTQ Tourism & Hospitality Survey, LGBTQ people took an average of 3.2 leisure trips in the year prior. Seventy-seven percent of the survey’s respondents had a valid passport, a huge percentage compared with the widely reported 40% or so of all U.S. residents who have a passport.

Many destinations, or suppliers operating in those destinations, are courting the community, looking to capture tourism spend. It’s paying off. LGBTQ travelers are more likely to visit a destination that’s considered gay-welcoming, according to CMI, and destinations reaching out to the community are reaping the benefits.

Even in less welcoming destinations that aren’t marketing to LGBTQ travelers, friendly suppliers are a bright spot for gay travelers and provide a safe harbor for a community that clearly wants to see the world, whether they’re welcome or not.

An unfriendly world

The world is still a less-than-friendly place for LGBTQ individuals. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) tracks gay rights around the world and each year produces a map with an overview of sexual orientation laws around the world, painting countries in shades of green, yellow or red depending on their level of friendliness, green being most friendly, red the least. Right now, yellow and red countries dominate the map. 

Even the green countries, like the U.S., are not without problems, according to David Paisley, senior research director at CMI.

“We talk about different places in the world being LGBT-friendly, but we need to recognize that not all places in the United States are LGBT-friendly,” he said. 

That is true throughout the rest of the world, too, Paisley said. Attitudes differ locally no matter what the laws and attitudes of a country are.

Today, LGBTQ rights are more advanced worldwide than they were 10 years ago, said John Tanzella, president and CEO of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), “but it does seem like we’re taking a couple steps backward in the States” and in some other countries, like Russia.

Paisley pointed to recent setbacks when asked if the global climate is improving for LGBTQ travelers.

“If you asked me that question two years ago, I would clearly say ‘Yes,’ but if you look at the international trend to more conservative politics that’s happened in the last couple years, I do have concerns,” he said. “There are some countries that maybe were getting a little more friendly to the LGBT community, and now we need to really wonder, and there are certain countries that are getting increasingly hostile. Now they weren’t LGBT meccas, but they were places that were really popular.”

Russia falls into that latter category, according to Paisley. He is also closely watching Brazil, where conservative Jair Bolsonaro just won the presidency.

Bolsonaro has made a number of homophobic, racist and misogynistic comments, according to published reports, including that he would rather his son be dead than gay.

There are also bright spots. For example, India recently legalized gay sex.

Regardless of the global climate, though, LGBTQ people want to travel, according to Ed Salvato, editor in chief of the gay-travel site ManAboutWorld.

“Travel is always a part of the DNA of gay people, I think,” Salvato said.

There is definitely a conundrum when unfriendly destinations want to court gay tourism spend, he said, and they face challenges for a number of reasons. But today, the number of travelers who aren’t straight and/or are gender-nonconforming is on the upswing.

“This is the future, and it really is changing rapidly,” he said.

To boycott, or not to boycott?

Earlier this year, Bermuda made headlines when it repealed legislation that enabled same-sex marriage, but the country’s top court subsequently reinstated it. That provided a good case study of the power the travel industry wields in making the world friendlier to gay travelers.

At the time of the repeal, Bermuda was actively marketing itself to younger travelers. While Kevin Dallas, CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority, said at the time that it was not specifically targeting the LGBTQ community, the younger demographic was increasingly diverse and definitely included gay visitors.

When gay marriage was repealed on the island nation, many travelers and celebrities called for a boycott of Bermuda, but the IGLTA took an opposing stance.

“We’re not going to support boycotts in a situation where a destination may not be as welcoming as they should in their laws, may not be supportive of the LGBT community,” Tanzella said. “If you look at certain places in the U.S., Jamaica, Egypt, you could easily make the case to boycott, but we don’t because we do have members in places even as far-reaching as Uganda.

“When we have members in these types of places, a boycott is going to hurt the LGBT community first,” he said. “But also, it prevents an opportunity to explore the world and to build bridges, quite frankly.”

The IGLTA worked closely with the Bermuda Tourism Authority and local members to pressure the reinstating of same-sex marriage. 

“There’s cases where it really does work successfully to work with the destination and our partners in trying to change the hearts and the minds of officials that put in these types of laws,” Tanzella said. “Whereas boycotting, you shut the door to any kind of relationship or negotiation.”

John Clifford, president of San Diego-based International Travel Management, specializes in LGBTQ travel. He agreed that boycotting non-LGBTQ-friendly destinations does not help.

“There’s no way for these countries and these people to evolve if they don’t see and experience gay people,” Clifford said. “The only way that that can happen is by being ambassadors, not necessarily just for the gay community, but for humanity in general.”

The IGLTA has also successfully worked with the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) in the past in defeating some anti-gay legislation. Atlanta CVB president and CEO William Pate said he finds the hospitality industry is often front and center in battling legislation of that kind.

“Travel is the great equalizer,” he said. “It gets people talking, it gets people together, and we all find out that we’re just really not that different.” 

The Atlanta CVB has made an effort to reach out to LGBTQ visitors with sections on its website and a travel guide. Pate said the city, which has a large LGBTQ community, tries to communicate that it’s open to all. 

Atlanta is one of the top five destinations in the country for people traveling domestically, Pate said, and just recently held the largest gay pride event in the Southeast. He believes its growth as a tourist destination is, “without question,” related to its LGBTQ-friendliness.

Destinations reap benefits

Fort Lauderdale is another destination that has seen great rewards from its inclusivity and from marketing directly to the LGBTQ community.

Salvato called the city a pioneer in marketing to the community and praised the “exemplary job” the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau has done.

Richard Gray, the CVB’s vice president of LGBT+ (the plus represents others on the spectrum and is Fort Lauderdale’s preferred style), said the city’s first campaign directed at gay travelers was launched in 1996. The CVB didn’t have the confidence to call it a “gay” campaign at the time, he said, instead opting for the term “rainbow campaign.”

“We were cautious, just because we didn’t really know if we were going to receive any negative feedback from launching a rainbow campaign,” Gray said. “From the get-go, we never really received any of that, and I would say within five years we found gold at the end of the rainbow. That gold gave us confidence.”

The confidence has lasted over the years, and Gray conservatively estimated that in 2017 the area welcomed 1.5 million LGBTQ visitors who spent $1.5 billion.

The CVB recently released a video campaign that features a veritable cornucopia of people of different sexual orientations, races and religions.

“We did it because it was the right thing for us to do at this time under the current administration,” Gray said. “The most important thing, why we did it, is we welcome everybody in this destination. It doesn’t matter the color of your skin, it doesn’t matter what your religion is, it doesn’t matter who you love, and it doesn’t matter how you identify. We welcome everybody.”

CMI’s data indicates that LGBTQ travelers do tend to visit destinations that are perceived as welcoming.

Paisley asserted: “Becoming an LGBT-friendly destination works. Outreach to the LGBT community works.”

Friendly suppliers shine

In destinations that aren’t as welcoming to LGBTQ travelers, suppliers that are either part of the LGBTQ community themselves or have taken steps to educate themselves and their employees are the shining spot for gay travelers.

“Very often we see these brands … being islands of tolerance in places that are traditionally not welcoming,” Clifford, the LGBTQ specialist agent, said.

Clifford often sends LGBTQ clients to places that are less than friendly. For example, he recently, at the traveler’s request, sent a gay man to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, where same-sex sexual conduct is illegal.

When dealing with a situation like that, Clifford said, he has frank discussions with travelers and directs them to the State Department’s website, which has information specifically for LGBTQ travelers. He goes over ILGA’s world map with them as well, and he encourages them to sign up for the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.

Clifford sent his client to the UAE and Oman with a destination-management company he uses based in Oman. In this case, he did not single out his client as LGBTQ, because it was irrelevant for that particular visit, he said.

He also noted the importance of suppliers who do welcome LGBTQ travelers despite the local climate.

“The best way to appeal to LGBT travelers is to have sensitivity training for your employees, which simply makes you aware to treat them like anyone else,” he said. “If they show up in a four- or five-star hotel, no eyebrows raised; they want to have people that understand what things are important to them.”

There are some standout brands that are particularly welcoming to gay travelers. One of these — especially for Simon Mayle, an event director for International Luxury Travel Market — is Belmond.

Mayle, who is gay, was visiting the Belmond Hotel das Cataratas in Brazil with his partner. He had requested a room for two people with no other details. 

On arrival, they found two pairs of flip-flops in the room, one clearly sized for a man, the other for a woman. They soon left the room to take some sunset photos at the nearby Iguazu Falls and returned just a few minutes later to find the women’s flip-flops had already been swapped out for a men’s pair.

“We were so impressed, so blown away by this,” Mayle said. His partner frequently talks about that particular property, and Belmond itself, after that experience.

Belmond started engaging with the LGBTQ community about five years ago, according to Elio Lopez, director of sales for LGBTQ. He said he believes Belmond is the only hospitality company with a director of sales specifically for the LGBTQ community. The company also has an advisory board dedicated to LGBTQ travel, conducts sensitivity training for its 47 products in 24 countries and has internal policies protecting LGBTQ employees.

“In the company, the core basis is to welcome, include and celebrate everybody,” Lopez said. “That allows you to have very strong policies in terms of discrimination, of course, race, equality — but most of this is about inclusion.”

Belmond does operate in countries that aren’t considered particularly welcoming to LGBTQ travelers. Lopez said the brand acts as an umbrella of care. He himself visited some of those destinations with his husband before he worked for Belmond, and he said he felt very comfortable.

Lopez acknowledged Belmond is not alone in working so closely with the LGBTQ community. He named others, including Hilton, Marriott and Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

“I would love for others to follow,” he said.

Rick Stiffler, Preferred’s vice president of leisure sales, said the company launched its Preferred Pride collection of hotels and resorts that are particularly welcoming to gay travelers in 2011. 

He said he made a presentation about the value of the LGBTQ travel market in 2010 that “really woke up a lot of our hotels” that wanted to tap into the business. Using that response, he launched Preferred Pride with a minimal budget of around $3,000. He used it to create a platform for hotels to reach out to the LGBTQ community.

“At the same time, we wanted to make sure our hotels walked the walk, talked the talk,” he said. “I didn’t want our hotels just signing up for a program trying to capitalize on the gay dollar. I really wanted them to be involved with what this program stood for.”

That meant requiring LGBTQ hospitality training, encouraging membership in IGLTA and more.

On a personal note, Stiffler, a gay man, said that before Preferred Pride began, he didn’t see brands advertising to him.

“I would always hear, ‘Oh, yes, we accept and welcome everyone here,’ which is great, and I think when you’re working at a luxury-level property anyway that that’s the case,” he said. “But at the same time, I didn’t see a lot of advertising and marketing to me. I didn’t see LGBTQ in their ads or on their websites. It seemed like everybody wanted the business, but I didn’t see any of the marketing advertising that went to that from a luxury level. It was really important for us as a brand to be able to have our campaigns and our marketing pieces really speak to the LGBTQ traveler. We were able to accomplish that.”

Preferred Pride hotels in unwelcoming destinations are able to send a message to consumers that says, in Stiffler’s words, “I want your business, and this is what we’re going to do to get your trust.”

W Hotels Worldwide has also been supportive of the LGBTQ+ (the acronym it prefers) community. W started participating in gay pride events in the early 2000s, and when the state of New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, it was the first to offer same-sex wedding packages there, according to Anthony Ingham, global brand leader.

The company has launched several LGBTQ initiatives as well, including Queer Me Out, a speakers series that continues today, featuring influential members of the community.

W also has hotels in unfriendly countries. 

“In some countries, we can be very overt and vocal about our support of LGBTQ+ equality; in others we have to be more sensitive to local culture,” Ingham said. “But that in no way changes our fundamental values of acceptance and diversity in every single one of our hotels.”

Kristian Anderson, senior vice president of global sales for Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, said Uniworld is the only river cruise company training all operations and commercial staff members on LGBTQ sensitivity. The training was created in partnership with ManAboutWorld.

“On a broader level, the travel industry in general has definitely moved to a more inclusive model, but I think it’s essential that the consumer do their homework by researching those companies that clearly demonstrate that commitment in their actions,” Anderson said. “The absolute, hands down best way for a consumer to do this is to use a professional travel adviser.”

Suppliers that are LGBTQ friendly also tend to carefully vet the people with whom they work. For example, Jody Cole, a guide and founder of Wild Rainbow African Safaris, has been leading predominantly gay groups on safari for 15 years.

“I carefully choose vendors,” Cole said. “I make it clear that I’m bringing a gay group. The couples, the people who are rooming together, you go ahead and assume they’re a couple. If they’re not, I will make it clear that they’re not a couple. My team in Tanzania, in particular, they don’t care.”

In more than 20 years of visiting Africa, Cole said, she’s never experienced outward discrimination. In fact, her groups and the locals she works with often start a dialogue over the course of a trip, discussing local opinions on gay rights.

As LGBTQ rights around the world evolve, the industry is changing to serve those travelers, many brands with the hopes that other companies and destinations will follow their lead in the space.

“I just want more hotels to really talk the talk, walk the walk, to be honest,” Preferred’s Stiffler said. “If you’re going after this audience, really make sure that you are including LGBTQ in your advertising, in your marketing, making sure they’re a big part of your picture. 

“And also, as times have changed, we’ve focused a lot on the L and the B [and the G]. We’ve also got to make sure we’re paying attention to the T. They still have a long road ahead.”