5 THINGS TO KNOW

How the travel industry is embracing the LGBTQ community.

The travel industry has increasingly been courting LGBTQ customers with programming and packages. Their efforts have picked up during Pride month, but hotels and destinations have been pursuing the community for a while now. W Hotels, part of Marriott International, will debut a series of LGBTQ destination guides in places such as Mexico City, Istanbul, Atlanta, and Brisbane in Australia.  

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About face for Bermuda on same-sex marriage.

Court ruling knocks down a law that prohibited same-sex marriages only months after they were legalised. Bermuda is poised to again permit same-sex marriages after a high court reversed a ban on the unions. Earlier this year, the British territory made the unprecedented decision to repeal the right of gay couples to marry…  

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Who is the top country in the LGBT Global Acceptance Index? (Spoiler alert, it’s not the U.S.)

As Donald Trump campaigned for the White House in 2016, polls showed 19–25 percent of Americans said they’d consider moving to Canada if he won. Surveys put that percentage even higher among LGBT voters. But perhaps LGBT Americans should have been looking to move to…

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What U.S. cities have the largest percentage of LGBT residents?

For gay, transgender, lesbian or bisexual individuals and families, there has long been comfort in numbers. And while there are LGBT communities in all metro areas, some are larger than others. Yes, San Francisco tops the charts, but there are also other cities that have a large and thriving LGBT presence…

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Lesbian wedding happens in Vegas in heartwarming new tourism ad.

Las Vegas is the most popular U.S. destination for same-sex marriages. Two beautiful women get engaged in a touching new commercial for Visit Las Vegas’ Only Vegas Moments campaign, which includes four digital short films and broadcast spots airing on major national channels.

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LGBT travelers shouldn’t just visit queer-friendly destinations.

Because of my position within the LGBT travel community, my friends have expressed passionate arguments for boycotting antigay destinations I’ve visited. For them, the decision to boycott is clear: they just won’t visit because they believe they shouldn’t give LGBT tourism dollars to known anti-gay destinations.

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A hot time at the first South Pole Pride.

This historic photo marks the very first time Pride has been celebrated at the South Pole. Eight hundred and fifty miles from the South Pole, ten employees at McMurdo Station, the United Station’s main Antarctic station, decided to take a photograph with the rainbow flag to celebrate LGBT Pride…