Why an International LGBTQ+ Tourism Day? This international day is commemorated on August 10 each year. The purpose is to make the international community aware of the importance of LGBTQ+ tourism, in its social, cultural and political aspects, as well as its impact on the economies and job creation of destinations that welcome LGBTQ+ travelers. LGBTQ+ inclusion for its inhabitants and those who visit them. The Motto in the Year 2021: The International LGBTQ+ Tourism Day is celebrated with acts, declarations and activities around a theme annually, last year’s theme being: “Safer experiences for LGBTQ travellers, towards truly inclusive tourism”, In this way, joining the response of the World Tourism Organization to the current crisis, highlighting the inclusive values of tourism.
For this year, the motto of the celebration is: “The future of tourism is plural, diverse and inclusive: Let’s build and defend equality”, which is in line with the slogan proposed by the World Tourism Organization for 2022, which once again focuses on the future and reinforces the opportunity to rethink the activity, making the sector more sustainable, inclusive and resilient.
In a world that even today criminalizes homosexuality in some way in 1 out of 3 countries on the globe, every August 10, representatives of organizations in each of the countries that welcome LGBTQ+ travelers carry out actions and take advantage of the occasion to send their messages to the world inviting them to become aware of the importance of making tourism the most inclusive of activities. Remembering the pioneers Remembering those who, through their initiatives, made the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people safer when traveling, and recognizing those who made respect for diversity a special value for their businesses, we chose to celebrate each August 10, International LGBTQ+ Tourism Day.
Many were the people who shaped LGBTQ+ Tourism as we know it today, but one in particular, in mid-1965, first edited “The Address Book”, the equivalent for the LGBTQ+ community of “The Green Book” that guided Black travelers through the segregated South of the US since 1936. Bob Damron, one of the pioneers of LGBTQ+ tourism as we know it today, guided hundreds and thousands of LGBTQ+ people through his editions as a bridge , uniting the community through safe experiences that allowed the expansion of travelers to destinations that would authentically welcome them.
Source: Radio Power Strike with Latitud Gay