When asked to recommend the most engaging capital cities in Europe, Berlin and Copenhagen invariably spring to mind. I’ve been struggling to find reasons as to why the German and Danish capitals are treated with such fondness in my thoughts.
The penny finally dropped when I saw Lonely Planet’s list of the most gay-friendly places on Earth. Low and behold, Copenhagen topped the list with Berlin in sixth place. I had my answer. Even as a straight person, the list is relevant for it is a list of tolerance. And tolerant environments are where I’m at my most comfortable.
GET TOLERANT, GET RICH
Irish economist David McWilliams posted a blog entitled Get tolerant, get rich whereby he illustrates the economic and social importance of tolerance and goes on to say that “tolerance of gays also means tolerance of trying new things, being open to new ideas”.
And while this post is concerned with the LGBT community, history has shown us that trading zones such as the Venetian Republic and the Silk Road were tolerant of religious diversity.
LGBT TOURISM BENEFITS
A Fáilte Ireland representative confirmed that it markets specific gay events such as Pride in mainstream media but doesn’t promote general Irish tourism in gay media. This is a pity on three fronts.
Firstly, the world’s gay community remains, by and large, oblivious to Ireland’s qualities as a holiday destination. Secondly, Ireland loses out on the virtues that the LGBT community can bring. Tourism is an important industry to the Irish economy so we can ill-afford to omit an invitation to a market which has a global buying power of $3.7 Trillion. In the UK , the buying power of the LGBT community is estimated to be £6bn.
Personal friends and acquaintances – gay and straight – are in favour of promoting Ireland among the gay community abroad, and those employed in the tourism industry have no objection to having a few pink pounds in their pocket after a hard day’s work.
I contacted a number of high-profile members of the LGBT community in Ireland and LGBT representative groups regarding this topic but only got a reply from the office of one individual. I received a future invite to one group’s meetings, so at the time of writing I had little feedback to work from.
I asked for thoughts on promoting general Irish tourism in LGBT media, if Ireland is a gay-friendly destination and how Ireland can enhance the tourism experience for the LGBT community. The reluctance to comment was surprising.
Yes, like everywhere, homophobia exists in Ireland but I believe such attitudes belong to a minority. After all, 62% of voters in Ireland voted in favour of same-sex marriage in the 2015 Marriage Referendum, the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote.
TOLERANCE TOURISM
72 countries have anti-homosexuality laws. This is a frightening figure. Personally, I notice prejudices come in bundles: Looking at the list of 72, discrimination on several grounds such as gender, religion or race is prevalent in many of these countries.
With this in mind there is a glaring need for a concept which I’m christening Tolerance Tourism where diversity is not simply a revenue-generating token gesture but the provision of a safe and re-assuring environment for locals and travellers.
Some people are not comfortable with diversity, as social media posts often demonstrate. After all, bigots everywhere fear equality and inclusiveness simply because their personal shortcomings are disguised in an unfair society.
Some years ago, I organised a dating game for a farming charity event and not one eyebrow was raised when the event invited the LGBT community to participate as well. Truth is, being gay no longer means being side-lined. It means being part of the whole community. And this is why I’d like to see our whole community being promoted to everyone.
Barriers will not be broken down and lives will not be enriched if only specific activities/events are marketed towards gay tourists. The island of Ireland has a long history of religious divide and we must not repeat history with respect to other discriminatory grounds. I hope I’ve made a compelling case for Fáilte Ireland to advertise all of Ireland in gay media.
UPDATE: This post was originally published in April 2015, one month before Ireland’s same-sex marriage referendum. In June 2017, Leo Varadkar became Ireland’s first openly-gay head of government.
Interested in visiting Ireland? Check out my Planning a Trip to Ireland post for further information.
Travel can benefit personal self-enrichment. Check out my benefits of travelling post for further detail on this topic.
Arrivals Hall 