Keeping LGBT Business Travelers Safe

Photo: ManAboutWorld

There’s a new resource travel professionals can offer their clients in the LGBT community to help them navigate through unfamiliar destinations.

The LGBT Guide to Business Travel, published by ManAboutWorld, was created for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender professionals. More than one-third (38%) of LGBT people in the United States made at least one business trip in the past year, according to new research from LGBT2030. 

Sexual orientation or gender expression is still criminalized in 76 countries. In some places, like Singapore, there are laws on the books that are no longer enforced, while in others, like Egypt, public decency laws may be used to harass and persecute gay men.

Topics covered include safety concerns, resources, coming out in a business environment, social engagement, and advancing the cause of human right globally. 

The guidebook is sponsored by Marriott International, IBM, and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. It’s available to download for free at Google Play and the AppStore.

Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now, said the landscape for LGBT travel is improving, and “we predict an increasing awareness in the travel industry itself over the next decade, with more options available for LGBT people.”

However, tools like the guidebook and Out Now’s workshops are still important for the industry and travelers.

Out Now, a specialist diversity consulting firms, offers agents and suppliers, education workshops and online training, and a list of OutNowCertified hotels. “People can gain that extra reassurance they are choosing to stay in a genuinely well-informed and welcoming establishment,” Johnson said.

“We believe travel agents stand to be among the biggest gainers from the growth in LGBT travel awareness,” he said. “The more training programs Out Now delivers, the more we see that the industry is evolving and the more destinations, hotels, and agents that we train, the better things become for all involved.”

To access the guidebook, click here.