How Safe Are LGBTQ+ Travelers: ITB Berlin Highlights Global Trends

Published on July 24, 2025

The ITB Berlin trade show has historically been a bastion of diversity in tourism, and its latest survey illuminates a growing concern: how safe LGBTQ+ travelers feel all over the world.

For the first time, ITB Berlin has, in association with Diversity Tourism and A3M Global Monitoring, commissioned a comprehensive study analysing the experiences of LGBTQ+ travellers, i.e., with regard to social acceptance, safety, and the problems that may arise in specific destinations.

Known as “Perceptions and Experiences of LGBTQ+ Travelers,” the survey has yielded highly valuable data on not only where LGBTQ+ travelers feel safe, but also in areas where acceptance is still lacking. The survey was carried out from December 2024 until April 2025, not only with the intention of assessing the lived experiences of LGBTQ people while travelling (beyond the prism of the law) but also focusing on feelings of safety, social climate, and instances of experiences during travel.

Canada and Spain: Welcoming and Safe for LGBTQ+ Tourists

One of the most significant results in the ITB Berlin study is to consider Canada and Spain as the safest countries for LGBTQ+ visitors. Both countries scored high in terms of attitude towards social acceptance and public behavior. Over 90% of respondents said that showing affection in public is not an issue. Spain was singled out in particular for being consistently LGBTQ+ friendly, with cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Mediterranean coastal towns as hubs for openly welcoming LGBTQ+ communities. Canada is also known for being friendly to LGBTQ+ people, with 71 percent of those surveyed in Canada saying that PDA by same sex couples is okay.

Both countries did well on law enforcement, too, with many LGBTQ+ travelers saying they had positive interactions with the police in both Canada and Spain. This is strikingly not the case in many other countries, where such experiences are typically more varied or negative.

The USA: A Tale of Two States for LGBTQ+ Safety

The ITB survey gave the USA mixed reviews. There are certain parts of the country— a refuge like San Francisco, a progressive city like New York —where everybody’s OK with it, but in much of the country they’re not OK with it.” In the U.S., approximately a third of respondents said that queer couples can show affection and that the police are LGBTQ+ friendly. But the disjuncture between progressive cities and conservative countryside is also clear.

This division, exposed by the survey, indicates a broader regional divide in the USA in which safety and social acceptance are not assured for LGBTQ+ travelers in every state.” This contrast indicates that whereas there are places that prioritize and embrace LGBTQ+ rights and inclusions, there are others that can potentially be very challenging with public display of affection or even with just being openly LGBTQ+ in some locations.

Germany: Ambivalent Attitudes Despite Legal Advances

One might think of the relatively liberal laws in Germany at work for LGBTQ+ rights, such as with marriage equality and equal legal rights; however, opinions might be split when it comes to societal understanding. Germany scored high for legal rights, but there is still an underlying stigma that percolates in public spaces. Indeed, barely half of those surveyed said they felt comfortable showing public affection or engaging with the authorities, despite the country’s good legal framework.

The survey results reveal a disparity between the legal status of LGBTQ+ people in Germany and the lived social reality. This could suggest that although the law is supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, there is a question mark over public attitudes to LGBTQ+ people in response to a law, or whether that attitude can vary in some parts, most notably outside main cities such as Berlin.

Focusing on Transgender and Intersex Travelers

One of the most important findings of the survey was just how divided the LGBTQ+ community is, with regards to perceptions of safety. Transgenders and intersex people suffer even higher levels of discrimination and personal insecurity than gay men or lesbians. Problems, such as misrecognition of gender markers on passports, a lack of security staff receiving training, and the lack of access to gender inclusive facilities were cited as the biggest issues facing trans and intersex travelers worldwide.

This is especially the case in regions where legal recognition of non-binary identities is limited, or where gender norms are particularly strict — for example, in parts of the USA, China, and Dubai.

Worldwide Events and Rollbacks on Rights for LGBTQ+ People

The ITB Berlin poll also pointed to major international progress in LGBTQ+ rights. Achievements included the 2024 decriminalizations of “homosexual” acts in Dominica and Namibia, and the 2025 legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand. These successes are a hopeful indication that the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights is picking up steam in many parts of the globe.

But the survey also cited setbacks, such as in Iraq, which brought in tough laws on the LGBTQ+ community in 2024, and Mali, which made gay sex a crime last December. Indeed, Trinidad and Tobago has itself done a U-turn and brought back the criminality of the gay community.

The Future of Safe Travel for LGBTQ+ People

With LGBTQ+ travelers, while seeking destinations with both legal protection and social acceptance, some were cautious, the survey found, and there is a greater need for a heavier emphasis on safety and inclusivity. “Now that people are feeling much more confident in the way they live as an LGBTQ+ person, where they can share who they are with the rest of the community without any concern, it’s expected there’s going to be a boost when it comes to supporting countries to be safer,” Diversity Tourism managing director Thomas Bömkes said.

The results will be used at ITB Berlin and provide the basis for a broader conversation and resulting action planning process for the industry to be more inclusive, transparent, and cater to the diverse needs of LGBTQ+ travel. The survey is set to be repeated annually, keeping tabs on safety, acceptance, and legalities, and providing a better understanding of global LGBTQ+ travel safety trends.

Image Courtesy: Messe Berlin GmbH