The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has dropped six places on this year‘s ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map and Rainbow Index, as Hungary and the Republic of Georgia also register steep falls following anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across…
Tag: Ukraine
France, Spain, USA, China and Italy most visited countries in the world, Belgium 41st
France, Spain, the United States of America, the People’s Republic of China and Italy are the most visited countries in the world. Belgium ranks 41st, the Netherlands 20th. Not only the 193 member states of the United Nations are counted, but also other top level domains such as Hong Kong (17th).
Hungary to ban Budapest Pride and doing so limits freedom of assembly
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Fidesz) is seeking to ban Budapest Pride, arguing that it is harmful to children’s development. He has proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit the event, stating that it is a waste of time and money. Budapest, of course, is a popular destination for qtraight and gay people alike.
Turkey welcomed 62 million international tourists who together spent $61 billion in 2024
July 2024. Steve and I are cruising on the Norwegian Getaway, a Breakaway class ship by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL. Interestingly, our stay on board happened shortly after the Getaway paid a visit to the dry dock for some refurbishments. The route? Piraeus, which is the port of Athens in Greece; followed by Mykonos;…
UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER | International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024
With 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals recorded globally, 2024 marked the recovery of international tourism from the worst crisis in the sector’s history. A majority of destinations welcomed more international tourists in 2024 than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, while visitor spending also continued to grow strongly. For 2025, more growth is predicted.
2025: Overtourism overdose?
On 1 January 2024 we wrote about how rising prices affect travel. Not only the price of flights, but also the price of activities. Pricing was a topic the year before, 2023. In 2024, conventional and social media dug into the issue of overtourism. Articles about locals protesting, Instagrammers posting about big crowds in Japan…
EUROPEAN UNION | Pride events do raise awareness for LGBTQIA+
As more than 200 organisers of LGBTQIA+ pride events gather in Portugal for their biggest ever annual conference this weekend, new data from the European Commission shows that awareness of EuroPride is thought to be at an all time high.
European Union, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein introduce European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) from May 2025
On 14 September 2024, the European Union launched its website for ETIAS, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System. The scheme will start being applied from May 2025.
How gay friendly are trending travel destinations Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina with Republika Srpska, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine?
ILGA-Europe published its ‘LGBTI Enlargement Review‘ for global mega election year 2024, looking at the state of affairs regarding the protection of LGBTQIA+ people and their equality of human rights compared to their straight friends, family and neighbours in ten countries who want to join the European Union. These countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,…
RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2024 | These are the LGBTQIA+ friendly and LGBTQIA+ unfriendly countries in Europe
2024 is worldwide a major election year. This is also the case in Europe. The Rainbow Map and Index by ILGA-Europe show(s) the continent – and yes that includes the United Kingdom – is not equipped against attacks from the far-right.