There are resources for LGBTQ+ travelers seeking safety

NEW YORK – Is there a system in place for LGBTQ+ tourists to help them stay safe while traveling in these politically precarious times? No, they don't have one. They have many.

In recent years, numerous specialized blogs, cruise and tour operators, and accommodation booking sites have sprung up. There are organizations that certify the support of transportation companies, destinations, and special events. And there are watchdog groups that keep an eye on the world's laws and customs.

“People are concerned because we know that in some cases our rights are under attack,” said Mark Chesnut, a New York-based travel writer and speaker with 30 years of experience in the industry. “People aren't going to stop traveling. They're just being more cautious and taking precautions. They're choosing their destinations carefully.”

Read reviews. Connect with locals. Educate yourself on a destination's laws and customs, recommend Chesnut and other experienced LGBTQ+ travelers and their allies. Is it illegal to be gay there? Is it a taboo that can be deadly? Is it safe to hug or hold hands in public? What consequences do HIV-positive travelers face? What about incorrectly filled out documents and security checks for transgender people?

For LGBTQ+ travelers, especially couples looking to express their true selves, there are many potential pitfalls, advocates say. But the potential dangers should be weighed against the joys that come with exploring new places, say Stefan Arestis and Sebastien Chaneac, the globetrotting couple behind travel blog The Nomadic Boys.

“We gays have to do more research than my heterosexual friends. They can just get on a plane and fly away,” says Arestis, a Greek Cypriot.

He and Chaneac, who is French, gave up their London jobs (the former as a lawyer and the latter in tech) to make Cyprus their base. They have turned more than a decade of extensive travel into a detailed website and, this year, a handbook for LGBTQ+ travelers: Out in the World: The Gay Guide to Traveling with Pride.

A detailed due diligence helps

Arestis said that back in 2014, when they began blogging about their year-long sabbatical in Asia for friends and family, it was clear that LGBTQ+ travelers were hungry for information.

“After about a year, random people started coming to our site. We asked ourselves who these people were. Basically, they were Googling things like 'Where are gay bars in Bali?' 'Are there gay hotels in Shanghai?' 'Is it safe to travel to Taiwan?' They found our content,” he said, because at the time there was little else online on the subject.

Arestis has visited 97 countries of all kinds. Chaneac doesn't count, but there are places he wouldn't visit for safety reasons, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

On their website and in their book, the Nomadic Boys tell how they see things, with practical tips and a feel for political and cultural landscapes.

In Lebanon, for example, they were shocked to be told they were blacklisted when they tried to leave the country. And their book includes warnings about Peru: The country “lags behind its more progressive neighbors” when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, but introduced anti-discrimination laws in 2017.

“We advise caution when engaging in public displays of affection unless you are in a gay-friendly environment. However, Peru is heavily dependent on tourism, so gay travelers will feel comfortable and welcome,” they advise.

The couple further noted that they had no problems getting a double bed in any of the hotels in the Peruvian cities of Barranco, Miraflores, Cusco, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca.

It was this level of detail and practicality that attracted black travelers to green books during the Jim Crow era.

Just friendly places or fancy excursions?

Some other LGBTQ+ travelers prefer to stick to safer and more tolerant places for comfort and as a sort of boycott against hostile destinations. Others step out of their comfort zone to have adventures and support the local and often oppressed gay community.

“It's a really heated debate,” Chesnut said. “It's a personal assessment and a personal decision that travelers have to make.”

Traveling can be particularly stressful for transsexuals.

Atlanta-based Gabrielle Claiborne is co-founder and CEO of Transformation Journeys Worldwide, a training and consulting firm that works with Fortune 100 companies to create a culture of belonging for transgender and gender diverse people. She also chairs the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association Foundation's Transgender Advisory Group.

Claiborne is a transgender woman who frequently travels around the world. She is 6'2″ tall and wears high heels, which often makes her a focal point at security checkpoints.

“A lot of people whisper and stare at me just because I'm there and visible in that space,” she said. “Security screening is a trigger point for transgender people because of their experiences with TSA agents and other people in line.”

Some transgender people have documents with photos and gender mismatches. Going through security scanners can be problematic, Claiborne says. Officers have to press a button to determine whether they are male or female.

“If they press the wrong button and an area of ​​our body is marked, we have to undergo a very triggering scan,” she said.

Claiborne does not support a boycott of unfriendly travel destinations.

“We still have a long way to go, but I'm optimistic about the progress that's being made,” she said. “The reality is that we're making progress when people are willing to stand up and be visible. Until we're visible in a place where we may be the only ones like us in the room or in that place, people aren't going to know what they don't know.”