I'm back from Minnesota and North Dakota! I survived 10+ hours in a kayak (we came in second!), ate lots of really yummy food, saw the headwaters of the Mississippi and a pair of sandhill cranes, and just maybe found the queerest spot in North Dakota. Seriously, it was a food hall slash brewery slash hotel and everyone working there was queer.
Hot Takes on Queer News
I'm constantly yelling about how big of an untapped market queer travel is, but two studies landed in my inbox...nudging me to yell some more about what mainstream travel media hasn't woken up to – yet.
Here's me on Bluesky last month:
"There might be a volatile and uncertain political climate, but there is absolutely nothing uncertain about this segment’s purchasing power," Todd Plummer wrote in Business Traveler, after summarizing the latest data on the LGBTQ+ community's travel spending.
I'm very familiar with this data because I refer to it in my book proposal while hammering home the fact that we're here, we're queer, and we fucking love to travel!
Here's the data I used in my book proposal to make the case to publishers, updated to the latest stats:
"7.1 percent of Americans, or around 23 million people, identify as LGBTQ+ (Gallup)" – as of their 2024 survey, that crept up to 9.3 percent of Americans
"Greater numbers of Millennials and Gen Z say they’re queer, which makes us a growing—thus, increasingly lucrative—demographic" - Still true!
"In 2022, the collective buying power of LGBTQ+ Americans was $1.4 trillion. We spend nearly $100 billion annually on travel, Skift estimates; globally, our travel spending equates to around $218 billion annually." - Per Business Traveler, the global travel spend of LGBTQ+ people is now $320 billion and on track to just about double by 2033!
Plummer goes on to connect the mass of spending power of queer travelers to the impact on brands that have back pedaled from DEI – and of course the financial win for those like Marriott or Delta that continue to stand by our community.
The article goes over some territory that should be very familiar for a long time readers:
Queer people want to visit places where we're welcome and we don't want to visit places where we aren't welcome. Case in point, more than half of lgbtq Americans are leery about visits to the land of Don't Say Gay aka Alligator Alcatraz!
Here's me on Bluesky, again:
LGBTQ+ travel isn't exactly a niche anymore (because there are too many of us), but it's not NOT a niche, either.
My two cents - companies aren't just waking up to the size of our market. They're starting to catch on to the diversity within the LGBTQ+ travel market.
They're starting to see that it's not just gay men and white parties. In fact, it never was.
On the gay-vs-queer-friendly distinction – and why it needs to be better communicated, for everyone's time and $$ – I spoke with Now Frolic. Check that out if you want a sneak preview of some of the terrain I'll cover in my book!
The final point Plummer makes that I want to draw attention to is that queer consumers are getting more savvy. Pinkwashing changed our expectations, and the current DEI backpedaling has upped the stakes.
It's not enough to just paint your logo rainbow for Pride month, you actually have to do something. And all year round, not just in June.
The current political landscape is really a crucible for all of us.
Are we going to shut it and stay home?
Are we going to pretend that it's business as usual?
Are we going to take every opportunity to not just loudly and clearly state our values, but demonstrate those values through our actions?
Marriott, Delta and Intrepid Travel get some praise in the piece for good allyship – you'll find them and other queer friendly brands on various roundups of queer-friendly travel companies if you need more inspo.
Hot on the heels of that first piece, Travel Daily Media took the pulse of LGBTQ+ travel in the year to come.
Their article breaks down the market share by location.
Unsurprisingly, North America is where the action is.
While the US is disappointing on the daily right now, blue states are still welcoming places to visit. Canada has progressive policies and, let's not forget, Mexico is making inroads with queer travelers who want an inclusive beach scene.
Over in Europe, countries that regularly rank as the most queer friendly like Iceland, Germany and Spain got a shout out.
Thailand and Japan are mentioned as Asian hubs for LGBTQ+ travel (again this shouldn't be surprising for our adventurer community).
Personally I agree that LGBTQ+ Asia travel is poised to spike, especially with the rise of more boutique travel companies that specialize in LGBTQ+ travel to the region. Not everyone wants to fully plan an independent trip, so smaller companies that really get that local and LGBTQ+ vibe just right could clean up here, and I would love that for them.
Travel Daily Media is forecasting a chosen family travel trend, where you and your queer squad or polycule head out on a group vacation together.
And a broadening of the traditional family travel with gender-free options and labels to reflect rainbow parents.
This is long overdue and the least companies can do in bookings, so I hope they're right here!
Travel Daily Media found similar numbers to Business Traveler when it comes to market size – a $357 billion valuation for the LGBTQ+ travel market by the end of 2025, projected to grow to $604.32 billion if the current average growth rate stays constant.
That's a big if. Geopolitics and tariffs could take a bite out of that number, especially if the US drags us all into a recession.
Who knows what the future will bring? We can't even decide on a date for tariffs ffs.
The data contradicts what's often been my experience of traveling while queer.
We tend to feel alone, either invisible or hyper visible, and self-conscious about advocating for ourselves. We stress the small things. But as North Dakota most recently reminded me, we are never as alone as we feel, or as mainstream travel media would have us believe.
In these extremely challenging times, the numbers bring me so much comfort.
They remind me why I do this.
They remind me of our collective and consumer power (I shared my queer boycotts piece with you last time, didn't I? Here's the link again).
And they help me come back to hope.
New posts
Your Guide to Transgender and Nonbinary US Passport Questions
Since originally publishing this post, I've updated it at least twice!
The latest updates address the federal court ruling in favor of trans passport applicants, and my predictions for how the Ttump vs. CASA Supreme Court case could limit this win.
7 LGBTQ Outdoor Groups That Lead Queer Outdoor Trips
One of my earliest and best-loved posts just got an update, sine some of the original groups featured in this list shut down. Take it as a reminder to support the adventure groups you love if you want them to stay active. People often run these things for free, as a labor of love!
Speaking of, that's how I run this site! If you get something out of this e-mails, pay it forward with a one-time tip via PayPal or Ko-fi.
