Parties and dating don't play a role in "gay travel". What's important to LGBT travellers, research including the Czech Republic shows
It probably comes as no surprise that many destinations around the world already have venues specifically for the LGBT community. Hotels, beaches, bars. Similarly, some places have even earned a firm position on the LGBT travel map (Canary Islands, Malta, Zakynthos...). Although (homo)sexuality shouldn't be a factor that predisposes a person to fly to the Canaries, spend all the time on a boring beach and in a gay bar, the truth is that there are certain specifics that come with LGBT travel. However, it is not necessarily just about the type of entertainment chosen, but perhaps also considering the choice of holiday with regard to the safety and status of LGBT people in the destination country.
Each person is unique and so is the choice of holiday subject to many individual preferences. Yes, some LGBT people may indeed go to, say, Berlin or London at the time of Pride and visit gay bars. Of course, LGBT travel also depends on safety, politics and general perceived comfort (which can certainly be contributed to by, for example, a higher concentration of LGBT people in the area). Simply put, LGBT travel can be different from heterosexual travel and can involve various factors that the majority population doesn't even think about.
Thus, the European LGBTQ Study cross-sectional study focused on what LGBT people may face when travelling, but also sought to capture the diversity across this group (as not every gay person seeks out other gay people on holiday). Nearly 4,000 people from eight European countries, including the Czech Republic, took part in the research, most of them under the age of 35, and almost half of the sample was made up of university students. Specifically, age affects not only the frequency but also the mode of travel - younger people travel more often and to more distant destinations, while older LGBT people try not to stray too far from home. Similarly, the frequency and distance of air travel also increases with higher levels of education.
The desire to experience new countries, people and customs (67%) clearly wins out in motivations for travel among LGBT people, followed by simply taking advantage of cheap flights (45%). In addition, LGBT people like to eat and drink well (40%). Specifically, the openness of the destination and the warm welcome of the LGBT community ranked fifth (34%), even ahead of safety per se (31%). And how did the parties and great nightlife fare? For the sample surveyed, this factor, along with the opportunity to meet other LGBT people, was the least important of all...
A certain disinterest in participating in nightlife and spending time within the LGBT community is matched by the finding that the use of dating apps was also ranked as the least frequent activity of all the activities assessed by the survey sample. In contrast, exploring LGBT places in new destinations topped the rankings.
In summary, it can be said that LGBT travellers enjoy life, like to explore new places, but it certainly cannot be said that 'gay travel' is a terminus technicus. Even across the LGBT community, there are different preferences and differences based on age, education, income - which can easily be said of the heterosexual population as well. The main thing that LGBT people encounter when travelling is possible problems with the acceptance of their orientation - that is why safety in a given country, or the political situation there, and also the culture, which for example may be a priori set against homosexuality, are more important to them. On the other hand (regardless of orientation) - safety, politics and culture are factors that "mainstream" travellers should also pay attention to... Because no matter what group of people one belongs to, one should first of all respect others and their way of life. And that goes for everyone.
