GETA | The Gay European Tourism Associatn

Contents:

• GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI
• GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS
• THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023
• GAY TOURS AND GROUP TRAVEL
• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• GAY TOURS EUROPE
• GAY GROUP TRIPS:
• PORTUGAL GAY TRAVEL
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EASTERN EUROPE
• GAY PARIS

GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI

It’s one of only five untri to make queer rights equal at a nstutnal level and holds first place on ILGA-Europe’s Rabow Europe Inx, which ranks untri on LGBTQ+ my last vis, a gay gui showed me round the wdg medieval streets of Valletta and Rabat, potg out sential bars and rtrants om Michel-starred Noni to the Monaliza Lounge drag bar, as well as the nightclub Michelangelo lively Paceville.

Two years later, Leo Varadkar was elected taoiseach, beg the world’s fourth openly gay head of ernment.

This spir filters down to Dubl’s many LGBTQ-iendly tablishments: two personal favour are iendly bnch spot Social Fabric Café Stoneybatter, one of the cy’s most tertg neighbourhoods, and Street 66 bar, a eful cktail spot before a night at inic LGBTQ+ stutn The southsi is gay-owned Gutter Bookshop (named after the famo Osr Wil quote), and the weekly “big gay dis” Sunday Social at Farrier & Draper; or cross the river for the Outhoe LGBTQ+ muny rource fe on Capel Street and PantiBar, owned by drag queen, activist and performer Panti Bliss.

GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

Enjoy bnch at Osr bar and fe, before a beer at one of Europe’s olst gay bars, Centralhjor, which hosts drag and Sunday jazz ssns venu clu Bøssehet Christiania, home to theatre, performanc, exhibns and parti – a well-suated boutique hotel is SP34 (doubl om £133) the Lat Quarter. The cy’s olst gay bar The Waterloo dat back half a century, while another classic spot is the Unrground bar, equally fun for drag or karaoke. Nearby Delmoni’s (known lolly as “Del’s”), has been Merchant Cy’s “gay triangle” sce stay nearby, try the good-value Bnswick hotel (doubl om £50), on a street wh venu marked by rabow flags.

THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023

Photograph: Nick Maslen/AlamyOn my last vis to Birmgham the rabow flag seemed to be everywhere, and the historic Gay Village, wh s bars, shops and f, is hugely visible, centred largely on Hurst Street. Start wh bibimbap at the thoroughfare’s Korean rtrant Topokki before drks at Missg, Siwalk or lbian bar The Fox and dancg at the legendary Nightgale Club, the olst gay club the cy, datg back to summer’s hot LGBTQ+ event is Fierce’s Healg Garns of Bab (27 June - 17 July): part of Birmgham 2022 Ftival, ’s an artistic rponse to this summer’s Commonwealth Gam, celebratg “what the Brish Empire tried (and failed) to stamp out”.

Mykonos’s rep as queer heaven dat back to the 1970s, when Jackie Onassis beme a regular visor (she first vised 1961), before blossomed as gay rort the 1980s, wh acmodatn sprgg up for the largely male 2022, you n hang out at tablished hotspots Jackie O, bar Porta or Kastro’s, and stay at the Super Paradise (doubl om £249), handy for the island’s ma LGBTQ+ beach. The season’s big gay dance ftival is XLSIOR, attend by about 30, 000 people (17-24 Augt)HelskiA Pri gatherg at Helski Cathedral.

Photograph: Subodh Agnihotri/AlamyFor many gay men of a certa age, Fland is extribly associated wh leather-clad inic hero Tom of Fland, whose books pict a ggedly sexualised masculy durg a time pre-1971 when homosexualy was still illegal. Now you n take a tour of where thor Too Laaksonen lived his whole adult life, passg the Kansalaistori (People’s Square) ont of parliament, once a clanste meetg pot for gay karaoke fans should check out Mann’s Street, a boozy stutn; other fun spots are Street Pri the Kamppi district, and Kvääristö, a jot for queer women, transgenr, and non-bary people.

GAY TOURS AND GROUP TRAVEL

You might even be able to jo the Helski Homovaas (Helski Gay Invasn), whose purpose is to “shake up the gay scene” by takg over random straight bars. 5ln people each year, cludg 300, 000 overseas self is one of the most LGBTQ-iendly untri the world: same-sex sexual activy was ma legal 1979, and was the third untry to legalise gay marriage, 2005. First stop has to be Chue, Madrid’s “gaybourhood” wh bars and venu dotted around Plaza Chue (also don’t miss the recently refurbished Merdo San Antón for tasty food stalls and a rooftop terrace).

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

The term – a phemism that dat back to the 1950s – was once ed to dite gay social events on daily cise le programs, whout explicly llg out members of the muny on board.

As travel on the high seas ntu to bounce back om the COVID-19 panmic, gay and lbian travelers should nsir settg sail on a fun-filled cise vatn as their next planng a cise, vatners should first nsir what their ial sailg looks like.

Some cise operators (thk: Atlantis Events and La Demence) are known for their electrifyg, all-night parti, which may be perfect for gay groups of iends. Cisers should also thk about whether they'd like to travel aboard a gay-iendly mastream le, such as Celebry Cis or Virg Voyag, or opt for an all-gay, full-ship charter wh a third-party vatn pany. Of VACAYA's all-gay charters, he says, "For one magil week, our muny gets to be the majory and live life out loud the blissful utopia VACAYA creat on a gay cise.

GAY TOURS EUROPE

This le gets the stamp of approval om prev LGBTQ cisers, who praise the ships' genr-ntral bathrooms, onboard shows wh rint drag queens and diverse Voyag offers gay-specific sailgs through travel pani like Atlantis Events, but s more mastream erari still offer a welg, clive atmosphere that attracts LGBTQ cisers year-round. Atlantis EventsThe world's largt gay and lbian travel brand, Atlantis Events was found 1991 and wel more than 20, 000 travelers annually on LGBTQ vatns. For s all-gay cis, Atlantis charters megaships om popular l like Royal Caribbean Internatnal and Norwegian Cise Le, so cisers will have a fully immersive board, travelers n enjoy all the perks the megaships have to offer (thk: pools, hot tubs, sports urts and plenty of dg choic), pl special events like drag performanc, motivatnal speakers, LGBTQ movi on mand each b and high-energy circu parti across the ship.

"As an LGBTQ ciser, you're lookg for a ship wh lots of entertament, cludg dance parti and events, " says Mars Martez, founr of Men Who Bnch, a Black gay liftyle blog. "One of the bt cise [l] for gay cisg is Atlantis, sce you'll be able to meet hundreds of attractive men and party all day and night on the ship. " Atlantis hosts primarily gay men; women make up about 5% to 10% of bookgs, acrdg to the Atlantis webse.

Cisers will also enjoy performanc by drag queens, gay Broadway stars and more, pl more typil river cise perks like sightseeg and lavish meals. Celebry Cis(Courty of Celebry Cis)Celebry Cis sets the scene for an excellent vatn for gay travelers, om s extravagant annual Pri parti to s daily LGBTQ programmg throughout the year.

GAY GROUP TRIPS:

Although all erari are gay-iendly, nsir bookg a Pri Party at Sea sailg (which tak place each June) for an extra special experience. Private travel pani like VACAYA also charter Celebry ships for all-gay voyag throughout the (Getty Imag)Specifilly marketed toward lbians and LGBTQ women, Olivia has hosted more than 350, 000 travelers by land and sea over almost five s. The popular cise le equently partners wh Atlantis Events to offer all-gay voyag throughout the year, but even the standard sailgs earn praise.

Iterari typilly feature LGBTQ meetups at the begng of each cise for gay travelers to meet likemd passengers.

PORTUGAL GAY TRAVEL

Outsi of the sailg experience, Royal Caribbean has also publicly mted to support the LGBTQ muny throughout the year, and was the first cise le to earn the tle "Gay Traveler Approved" om GayTravel 2023, nsir a Royal Caribbean voyage that sails to gay-iendly statns. ]The Cise Wh La Demence(Courty of The Cise wh La Demence)Acrdg to past cisers, if you're lookg for one of the bt party scen on the open seas, nsir an all-gay cise wh La Demence. Powered by a popular gay nightclub Bssels wh the same name, La Demence – French for "the madns" – primarily ters to a European crowd.

Prev cisers had high praise for the erari – which exclively vis gay-iendly lotns – as well as the uy cktails, themed nights (stum strongly enuraged), glamouro entertament, and unique events like drag bgo and high heel Demence sails every summer to statns like Rome; Athens and Mykonos, Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and more. Detours is a laid-back, no-strgs-attached approach to gay group travel that feels more like explorg the world wh old iends than anythg else. Keepg all that md, here are jt some of the most gay-iendly untri Europe where LGBTQ+ travelers n enjoy a safe vis.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EASTERN EUROPE

Portugal was one of the first European untri to approve gay marriage 2010, and the Portugue nstutn bans discrimatn of LGBTQ people. Lisbon also has a very popular and well attend Gay Pri Ftival and para and the ternatnal Queer Lisboa Gay and Lbian Film Ftival every year, too.

GAY PARIS

Belgium was the send European untry to legalize gay marriage and the send to crimalize same-genr relatnships all the way back 1795. Spa legalized homosexualy 1979 and legalized gay marriage 2005, beg the third natn Europe to do so. In Madrid, the gay scene is by the Chue area, and MADO, the Madrid Pri celebratn, is one of the biggt Europe.

In 2013, Gay marriage was legalized, and LGBT persons were allowed to serve openly the French armed forc. Ireland may seem like a rather nservative untry, but beme the first European natn to legalize gay marriage by a popular vote 2015. A poll done 2019 said the 87 percent of Luxembourgers believed gay, lbian, and transgenr people should have the same rights as heterosexuals.

It’s known for a dynamic gay muny that is happy to nnect wh travelers to ensure their stay is fun and trouble-ee. They even have a webse for the LGBTQ+ muny and special gay gui to Malta webse to help visors plan a trip to Malta. The Gay European Tourism Associatn is here to help all bs and anisatns that are volved gay tourism Europe to prosper and grow.

Members get accs to a wealth of rearch, directori, articl and rmatn - all signed to help you tap to the gay travel market. Wh over 3, 000 hotels, gutho, B&Bs and holiday ho and apartments across Europe, 's the most prehensive gay travel se Europe.

If you're the owner or manager of acmodatn Europe, then you n add your property to the Gay Wele webse for ee. A key element of this is helpg our members to grow their bs by learng more about the gay market and how to work effectively wh . GETA Gu tells you all about gay tourists, how to ensure that your product appeals to them and how to market to them.

Each month GETA Gu will foc on a different element of gay tourism bg rearch, articl, se studi and foms to provi a prehensive, teractive examatn of a particular subject which will help your bs to grow.

Our first GETA Gu post looks for the first time ever at the size of the European gay tourism market.