LGBTQ vacations guide

At Responsible Travel, we have over 5,500 trips on our website, and all accept LGBT travelers.
However, at present just a few dozen of these trips are listed as ‘LGBT vacations’. The reason for this is that those we describe as LGBT on our site have specifically undertaken detailed research so that they can provide LGBT travelers with specific information and assurances. This includes on-the-ground research with local accommodations, tour guides, drivers and so on. It’s impossible for any vacation company to guarantee that their travelers will be free of harassment or discrimination, no matter where they travel or what precautions are taken; even in the UK a B&B owner turned away a gay couple in 2008. There will always be exceptions. But the tour operators whose trips are now listed as LGBT friendly on our site have done as much research as they can, and are comfortable that they can share any necessary information with LGBT travelers. Many will have already welcomed LGBT travelers on their vacations, and will have used these experiences and any feedback received to be able to better inform future travelers.

This is an ongoing effort. We hope that in the coming months, and years, many more – if not all – of our trips will be classed as LGBT vacations, as more and more operators become aware of the importance of providing this information, and know what questions to ask, in order to ensure that LGBT travelers can enjoy our vacations just as much – and as safely – as anyone else.

In some countries, the situation is more complex than simply reading up on the legal issues. South Africa, for example, has very progressive anti discrimination laws and was one of the first countries – and remains the only one in Africa – to legalise same sex marriage. However, outside of the more liberal, metropolitan areas, deeply conservative attitudes prevail, and harassment and violence towards LGBT people is commonplace. LGBT travelers, then, will need to know what questions to ask their vacation companies to ensure their safety, to find out if experiences such as community homestays are feasible, and to understand how open to be about their relationships or gender in more traditional regions.

Sometimes it works the other way around. In India, sex between men is criminalised, but the country’s famously hospitable attitude towards tourists means that gay tourists should encounter no discrimination. In Japan, too, homosexuals receive no legal protection, yet this very private nation does not believe in interfering in other people’s personal business, and LGBT people will be treated no differently to anyone else.