by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:27 AM ET, Thu May 13, 2021
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) recently published a study that surveyed over 6,000 members of the LGBTQ+ community around the globe about their travel sentiments.
Globally, 73 percent of those surveyed said they planned to take their next vacation in 2021. This percentage was even larger in the United States, with 77 percent of respondents hoping to travel this year, while almost 30 percent said they'd made plans within the past week (from March 26 - April 6).
Short-haul flights will be the preferred flight length this year, with an even 50 percent of both American and global respondents preferring shorter flights to longer ones, citing a desire to remain closer to home for now.
Among respondents from the U.S., 75 percent said it was likely they'd take a domestic leisure trip, while 28 percent plan to take an international leisure trip, which is overall quite high for right now in both domestic and international categories.
Sixty-six percent of those surveyed said it was likely they'd stay at a hotel in the next six months, while 36 percent reported they'd likely stay in a condo or vacation home.
There is also a desire to get back to participating in the LGBTQ+ community, as 34 percent of U.S. respondents said they planned to attend a pride festival or LGBTQ+ festival in the next six months.
"When we did our first LGBTQ+ post-COVID travel sentiment study last year, the pandemic was in its infancy and everything was uncertain. Still, the results were undeniable: LGBTQ+ travelers were anxious to return to travel as soon as it was safely possible," said John Tanzella, IGLTA President/CEO. "We wanted to revisit this project a year into this challenging time to reinforce the resilience of LGBTQ+ travelers, and to champion the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion in destination outreach. Again, the results undeniably show that LGBTQ+ travelers are ready to travel, and represent a valuable, loyal audience for tourism businesses that make the effort to genuinely welcome them."
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