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Spain Ranks Among the World’s Most LGBTQ+ Friendly Destinations
June 29, 2023
Today, on June 29, as the globe celebrates Pride Day, it’s essential to spotlight the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in Europe. Notably, Madrid and Barcelona stand proud among the top five.
For LGBTQ+ travellers, selecting a welcoming and inclusive destination is a key aspect when planning vacations. Discriminatory barriers persist worldwide, affecting the way these travellers are received. In fact, nearly 87% of Spanish LGBTQ+ travellers confirm that safety and wellbeing considerations are crucial when selecting a destination.
To streamline the search for hotels that are more LGBTQ+ friendly, Booking.com awards the Travel Proud badge to accommodations that offer inclusive stays. Currently, over 26,000 hotels have earned this recognition in 118 countries and territories, spanning more than 7,030 cities. Spain holds the third spot on the list of countries with the most Travel Proud-certified accommodations, boasting 3,167 properties, following Italy with 6,289 and the United States with 3,568.
Moreover, according to the UNWTO, LGBTQ+ tourism attracts more than 35 million travellers annually and significantly helps break seasonality. It exhibits a growth rate of 10.3% compared to the 3.8% of conventional tourism.
Hence, LGBTQ+ friendly destinations aim to draw this community due to their higher-than-average consumption patterns and their lower reliance on the seasons, allowing destinations to promote tourism year-round.
Europe's LGBTQ+ Friendly Destinations
Among all European destinations, Madrid tops the list of LGBTQ+ friendly locations with the highest number of Travel Proud-certified properties, with more than 500 accommodations. Milan (468) and London (465) complete the top three.
According to Turespaña, Spain offers the best quality of life for the community, attributing this to numerous factors such as the best holiday experience in many destinations, top-notch festivals, rich cultural offerings, shopping, high-end gastronomy, landscapes, premium infrastructure, and high-end hotels and fashion offerings.
On the other hand, the data company Mabrian also provides data on the most LGBTQ+ friendly destinations in Europe. They analysed 55 million reviews from the major travel portals, not just hotels, using AI-based Natural Language Processing techniques.
Mabrian’s analysis reveals a broader perspective on the destination, not just on the most welcoming hotels. It suggests that, in descending order, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Paris are the top five LGBTQ+ friendly destinations. These cities have demonstrated exceptional service quality and acceptance, making them highly sought-after destinations for travellers of this community.
Spain's Most LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities
For the Spanish LGBTQ+ traveller community surveyed by Booking, Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia are the most welcoming national destinations. Specifically, these eight destinations are recommended as the most friendly for the community:
- Madrid
- Barcelona
- Valencia
- Seville
- Cadiz
- Canary Islands
- Sitges
- Torremolinos
