To help LGBTQ+ travelers travel safely, German portal Spartacus launched its Gay Travel Index in 2012. For the 2024 edition, the ranking compared 213 countries and territories based on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer status. people in each location.
Last year’s leading destination Malta is joined by Spain, Canada, New Zealand and Portugal as the safest and most open places for LGBT+ travelers in 2024, according to the index, with each of these five countries scoring 12 points. did. According to the report, Estonia showed the greatest improvement over the past year, gaining 6 points (as opposed to his 2 points in the previous indicator). This is thanks to the approval of a law legalizing equal marriage in 2023. The first Latin American country to appear in the 2024 rankings is Uruguay, which ranks third with 10 points each, along with Denmark, Iceland, Germany and Norway.
At the other end of the spectrum are Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Russian Republic of Chechnya, and Afghanistan, all with scores of -21 points, indicating that they are dangerous countries for LGBT+ travelers, where gay people are persecuted and murdered. Russia is also far down the list (-17 points), once again having “significantly strengthened its anti-LGBT+ laws and equated the movement with extremist organizations.”
To create the index, the authors looked at 18 categories, ranging from marriage for everyone to the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people. The creators focus, among other things, on the political decisions that affect queer people, the legal framework, and the presence or absence of violence against them.
According to the report’s authors, the index was created with all types of travelers in mind, including those considering traveling to countries where the LGBT+ community is accepted and loved in society; , including people who are consciously thinking about traveling the world. The idea is to start a dialogue with the oppressed local queer community.
