To help LGBTQ+ tourists to travel safely, the German portal Spartacus began publishing the Gay Travel Index in 2012. In the 2024 edition, the ranking compared 213 countries and territories based on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people in each location.
According to the index, Maltalast year’s top destination, is joined by Spain, Canada, New Zealand and Portugal as safer and more open places for LGBT+ travellers in 2024, with each of these five countries receiving 12 points. According to the report, Estonia has seen the greatest improvements over the past year, scoring 6 points (in contrast to 2 points in the previous index).
This is thanks to the approval in 2023 of the law legalizing equal marriage. The first Latin American country to appear in the 2024 ranking isUruguay, which shares third place together with Denmark, Iceland, Germany and Norway, with 10 points each. Italy, however, occupies 58th place.
At the opposite end of the ranking there are Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Republic of Chechnya in Russia and Afghanistan, all with a score of -21 points, signaling that they are dangerous countries for LGBT+ travellers, where homosexuals are persecuted and killed. Russia also finds itself at the bottom of this ranking (-17 points), having once again “significantly tightened its anti-LGBT+ legislation and equating the movement with extremist organisations”.
In Asia, Taiwan scores highest, placing 13th alongside Sweden, Luxembourg, Ireland, Finland, Colombia, Chile and Austria. According to Spartacus, Thailand could move up this year in light of the new same-sex marriage bill that is likely to become law in 2024. India is in 44th place, along with Guam, Gibraltar and Ecuador.
To develop the index, the creators examined 18 categories ranging from marriage for all to the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people. The creators focus on political decisions affecting queer people, the legal framework and whether there are incidents of violence against them, among other parameters.
