To spend their holidays in a particularly tolerant liberal country, the LGBT person should go to Malta this year. The island republic is the most gay-friendly travel destination in the world, followed by Canada and Switzerland. This is the result of the Gay Travel Index 2023, which was presented at the ITB in Berlin. Using a points system, the index sorts 202 countries and regions around the world according to whether they are a recommended or unsafe travel destination for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
France ranks 17th. The country of human rights could do better.
Germany ranks 9th, with the UK, Iceland and Spain up one notch from 2020, when the index was last published. Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Portugal fare better, jointly ranked 4th, with Uruguay the only Latin American country in the lead. Taiwan (13th) qualifies by far as the best Asian country.
At the bottom of the ranking are the countries in which homosexuals are severely discriminated against and persecuted. In 15 fully or partially Muslim countries, people of the same sex are still The list of criteria for ranking nations includes 17 items, e.g. anti-discrimination laws, equal marriage, adoption rights, influence religion, persecution, murder rate, death penalty.
The most dangerous countries for homosexuals
The Gay Travel Index not only serves as a guide for trips planned for members of the LGBT community, “it is also a tool for heterosexual holidaymakers to consciously choose a country with high moral standards”, explains Christian Knuth, head of the Spartacus group
According to the Gay Travel Index, the most dangerous countries for gay people are Saudi Arabia (which has been massively courting Western travelers since 2019), Iran, Somalia and Afghanistan, where those affected are massively persecuted and executed. .
These states are collectively at the bottom of the ranking (199th place). The Russian republic of Chechnya also appears there, where homosexuals are also executed.
The ranking (with ex-aequo):
Top 10 countries : Malta – Canada – Switzerland – Australia – New Zealand – Denmark – Portugal – Uruguay – Germany – United Kingdom – Spain – Iceland
The last 10 countries (to flee) : Chechnya – Saudi Arabia – Iran – Afghanistan – Somalia – Yemen – United Arab Emirates – Nigeria – Libya – Kuwait – Qatar – Egypt
In the rest of Russia, the death penalty for homosexual relations does not apply, but the country still scores badly with rank 177: Here, “propaganda” for homosexual relations is already punishable, society and the Russian Orthodox Church are openly homophobic, and assaults are on the common agenda.
Even European countries are lagging behind
Other European countries that score poorly in the Gay Travel Index are Belarus (ranked 141), Poland (133), and Vatican City (121). The index also considers some important tourist countries such as Egypt (191st place), Tanzania, Morocco and Jamaica (177th place together) as difficult travel destinations. Homosexuals not only have to reckon with a hostile mood, but also with prison.
Indonesia backs down
Indonesia has deteriorated considerably, which, among other things, scores three points lower compared to 2020 due to a new criminal law influenced by fundamentalists and fell from 117th to 159th place. “Anyone who likes to travel to Bali, after all one of the most popular long-distance destinations, has been visiting a country since this year where premarital sex is just as punishable as same-sex sex in general,” warns Knuth, vacationers to know.
