The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global travel and local communities—particularly on the most vulnerable within our communities—has led us to find renewed resilience and compassion. It has also reminded us of the transformative nature of human interactions and what is lost when we are unable to travel and meet each other in person.
For the global LGBTQ+ community, COVID-19 has had the effect of what OutRight International has called ‘amplifying vulnerability,’, with impacts felt by LGBTQ+ individuals in both developed and developing countries. As global efforts to combat COVID-19 continue and the world reopens, it will be important to restore jobs and livelihoods that were lost in travel. However, we do have a choice about how we build back our businesses and how we travel in the future—we have an opportunity to make a difference. To be truly transformational.
A selection of results from the 2021 IGLTA consumer survey—presented for the first time in this report—demonstrate that LGBTQ+ consumers are willing to adopt practices that reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to the well-being of communities in the destinations that they visit. This is a welcome step and something that we need to understand better, and seize upon if we are to be agents of positive change in the destinations where we work.
This report explains how the LGBTQ+ travel community can work together to ensure that LGBTQ+ travel rebuilds in a way that brings net positive impacts to destinations. This is presented through five steps for positive action:
1. Lighten our environmental footprint
2. Reflect our diverse community
3. Build our social impact
4. Strengthen LGBTQ+ travel as an agent of change in emerging destinations
5. Drive community transformation through travel
These steps should be understood as additional steps that businesses and destinations can take (beyond existing efforts to promote responsible travel) to achieve a deeper impact for the benefit of their destinations, host communities and visitors.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global travel and local communities—particularly on the most vulnerable within our communities—has led us to find renewed resilience and compassion. It has also reminded us of the transformative nature of human interactions and what is lost when we are unable to travel and meet each other in person.
For the global LGBTQ+ community, COVID-19 has had the effect of what OutRight International has called ‘amplifying vulnerability,’, with impacts felt by LGBTQ+ individuals in both developed and developing countries. As global efforts to combat COVID-19 continue and the world reopens, it will be important to restore jobs and livelihoods that were lost in travel. However, we do have a choice about how we build back our businesses and how we travel in the future—we have an opportunity to make a difference. To be truly transformational.
A selection of results from the 2021 IGLTA consumer survey—presented for the first time in this report—demonstrate that LGBTQ+ consumers are willing to adopt practices that reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to the well-being of communities in the destinations that they visit. This is a welcome step and something that we need to understand better, and seize upon if we are to be agents of positive change in the destinations where we work.
This report explains how the LGBTQ+ travel community can work together to ensure that LGBTQ+ travel rebuilds in a way that brings net positive impacts to destinations. This is presented through five steps for positive action:
1. Lighten our environmental footprint
2. Reflect our diverse community
3. Build our social impact
4. Strengthen LGBTQ+ travel as an agent of change in emerging destinations
5. Drive community transformation through travel
These steps should be understood as additional steps that businesses and destinations can take (beyond existing efforts to promote responsible travel) to achieve a deeper impact for the benefit of their destinations, host communities and visitors.
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