Malta, Iceland, and the Netherlands Top the Charts as Safest LGBT+ Travel Destinations

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Europe and Canada Lead the Way

These findings come from a comprehensive survey conducted this year at ITB Berlin, Europe’s largest tourism trade fair. The study examined the safest and least safe destinations for LGBT+ travelers, using criteria that encompassed everything from legal frameworks and laws to real-life experiences shared by both residents and visitors. The goal was to identify the best and worst destinations for LGBT+ travel safety.

However, as expected, conditions vary significantly from place to place, even within the same country depending on location and context. Sometimes a destination that appears legally “gay-friendly” doesn’t necessarily translate to societal acceptance, and vice versa. This is particularly relevant when considering countries like the United States, where situations and attitudes can shift rapidly in either direction, and the landscape appears to be becoming less friendly in recent times.

While these results and situations clearly require nuanced interpretation, they offer few surprises regarding the realities each destination presents. Western Europe and Canada dominate the top rankings for LGBT+ travel safety.