Traveling the World with PRIDE

Not all destinations roll out the rainbow carpet to LGBTQ+ travelers. Full stop.

This is a sad fact that I’m all too aware of as both a gay man and a travel agency owner.

I’m currently preparing for Virtuoso Travel Week 2025 and can’t help but remember an awful one-on-one meeting I had at this event last year.

This meeting was with a country’s official tourism board.

Not a hotel, not a resort, but the organization representing this nation on the global tourism stage.

I asked: “How is your destination for LGBTQ+ travelers?”

She answered: “They’ll be fine if they stay in their resort.”

My jaw dropped — maybe she didn’t understand my question.

I asked again, thinking surely there’s NO WAY this could be the tourism board’s stance on LGBTQ+ travelers.

She quickly clarified: “No, I understood your question. They’ll be fine in their resort.”

Whether she intended to or not, this woman told me to my face not to visit her country, or to stay in my resort if I did.

Message received — I’m listening!

You won’t catch me promoting this destination. I’m not interested in “being fine in the resort.”

I take the safety of LGBTQ+ travelers very seriously and have shared this anecdote with anyone who even mentions this destination.

But, forget about them! I’ve already given them too much air. Naming the country would be empowering their stance.

Instead, as Pride 2025 draws to an end, here are some countries that are doing the work to make LGBTQ+ travelers feel not only welcome, but VALUED and an IMPORTANT part of the culture:

🌈 Spain
🌈 Portugal
🌈 Thailand
🌈 Taiwan
🌈 Canada
🌈 Austria
🌈 Germany
🌈 Switzerland
🌈 Malta
🌈 Ireland
🌈 Scotland
🌈 England
🌈 New Zealand
🌈 Australia
🌈 Iceland
🌈 Norway
🌈 Sweden
🌈 Denmark
🌈 The Netherlands

I’d love to see this list expand in 2026 and beyond. Which nations do you think will be next?

Happy Pride!