Why the LGBTQ Community May Be the First to Travel Again
Skift Take
The LGBTQ travel community has historically been very resilient after downturns in travel. There are early indications that the bounce-back after the pandemic may show a similar dynamic.
As travel's great reopening stutters and starts, the big question mark is just how many of the people who've been stuck at home will be ready to travel again — even with the potential risks.
Everyone has their best guess — from the rosy to the doomed — but history suggests that there is one demographic that has proved uniquely willing to travel even when there are risks associated: the LGBTQ community.
"Particularly in New York City, it’s widely said that after 9/11 when things opened back up, our community was the first to be out there, supporting the shows and the restaurants, and the hotels and getting back out into the world," John Tanzella, CEO of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, told Skift back in March.
Fast forward a few months, and that's proving to be true. A poll conducted by market insight and analytics company The Harris Poll found that while still cautious at this stage, LGBTQ appetite to return to travel was outpacing the population at large, with 51 percent of LGBTQ adults expecting to travel for vacation sometime in 2020 versus 46 percent of non-LGBTQ adults. Over the just-gone holiday weekend, 8 percent were willing to plan travel, versus 4 percent.
Another po
