South America concentrates the best LGBTQIA+ destinations, according to awards

Travel planning for 2023 is already in full swing with tourism returning, in fact, to its normal pace of growth, after almost three years since the start of the pandemic.

In Brazil, the resumption began with national destinations and now international travel is gaining traction.

But if it depends on LGBTQIA+ travelers, European and North American destinations that are quite common in the community’s choices, they will no longer have the game as won as before.

If, in the past, London, New York, Barcelona and Amsterdam were repeated figures in the travel album, today the cities will have to compete for travelers on an equal footing with South American destinations – such as Buenos Aires and other destinations in Argentina and Chile – and mainly Brazilian destinations, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Gramado and the states of Rio Grande do Norte or Mato Grosso do Sul.

That’s what the results of the 2nd Viaja Bi Award show! which assembled a jury of more than 60 people, including tourism experts and frequent travelers, from Brazil and abroad, to indicate the travel trends of the LGBTQIA+ community in 2023.

The jury has relevant names in world tourism, such as Ricardo Freire, Natalie Soares, Rafael Leick, Daniel Nunes, Alessandra Fratus, Ed Salvato, Dirk Baumgartl, Jessica Paula, Fábio Vilela, Jim Gladstone, Jurriaan Teulings, Fernanda Dias, Luiz Cegato, Clovis Casemiro, Mauricio Oliveira and Thel Lavagnoli, in addition to well-known travelers on social media such as Luan Poffo, Vicky Fechine, Rafael Supernok, Lidiane Costa, Fabio Pastorello and well-known couples such as Nomadic Boys, Reservas Pra Dois, Mundo Sem Muros, BusLifeBR and Once Upon a Journey.

FRIENDLY SOUTH AMERICA

With the Best Brazilian Destination category – the only one that does not include foreign destinations – South America took 8 of the 12 categories, with emphasis on São Paulo, which won four categories (Brazilian Destination; Party and Nightlife, Cultural Travel and Gastronomic Travel ), and Rio de Janeiro, which won two (Natural Beauty and Solo Travel).

It is noteworthy that most of the jury is from Brazil, which demonstrates the change in focus of the Brazilian LGBTQIA+ community in travel plans for 2023.

In the first edition of the award, in 2020, South Americans only appeared in the last three positions of the Top 10, with Colombia in 8th place and Bogotá and Buenos Aires in 9th and 10th position, tied with several others.

This year, Buenos Aires and Chile won one category each, respectively International Destination and Adventure/Outdoor Travel.

On the podium for the best tourist promotion for LGBTQIA+ travelers, Rio Grande do Norte stood out in third place.

The state recently became a member of IGLTA (International LGBTQIA+ Tourism Association) and it was nice to see that it has already started to show results.

The award also asked the jury to indicate destinations that are unmissable but still not friendly and the clear winner was Egypt, which still occupies the imagination of travelers around the world, but where it is illegal to be LGBTQIA+.

Budapest, Morocco and Namibia are also among the most mentioned.

EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA RELEGATED BUT STILL ON PITCH

Paris (Photo internet reproduction)

The traditional European and North American destinations, which are always on lists of the most friendly in the world — from the most reliable to the most dubious — continue to be very relevant for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Amsterdam, New York, Barcelona and Berlin complete the Top 5 international destinations just behind Buenos Aires.

In the Best Destination for LGBTQIA+ Couples category, Paris and France shared the top spot on the podium, followed by the USA, São Paulo and Italy.

Orlando and the USA were chosen as the best destinations for LGBTQIA+ families, followed by Portugal and — look at Brazil again — Gramado, in Rio Grande do Sul.

Spain took an honorable mention award as the destination with the best tourism promotion for the community.

And it is well deserved, since for many years it has been one of the destinations that has the most offers and promotes itself for the LGBTQIA+ community. It was the country with the most indicated destinations (15, in total) and nominal mentions (19 nominations in almost all categories).

In addition to the country, Barcelona was also the destination that had the most nominal mentions throughout the award. In the Top 10 of international destinations, the Spaniards scored destinations in 3 different positions.

WINNERS OF THE BEST LGBTQIA+ DESTINATIONS IN THE 2ND VIAJA BI! AWARD:

International Destinations:

1. Buenos Aires (Argentina)
2. Amsterdam (Netherlands)
3. New York (USA)
4. Barcelona (​​Spain)
5. Berlin (Germany)

Brazilian Destinations:

1. São Paulo (São Paulo)
2. Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro)
3. Salvador (Bahia)
4. Florianópolis (Santa Catarina)
5. Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais)

Destinations for couples:

1. Paris, France
2. USA / São Paulo (Brazil)
3. Italy

Party destinations:

1. São Paulo-SP (Brazil)
2. Spain
3. USA

Solo travel destinations:

1. Rio de Janeiro-RJ (Brazil)
2. Spain
3. USA

Adventure/outdoor travel destinations:

1. Chile
2. Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil)
3. Argentina

Destinations for natural beauty:

1. Rio de Janeiro-RJ (Brazil)
2. Fernando de Noronha-PE (Brazil) / Lençóis Maranhenses-MA (Brazil)
3. Bahia (Brazil)

Destinations for LGBTQIA+ families:

1. Orlando / USA
2. Portugal
3. Gramado-RS (Brazil)

Cultural travel destinations:

1. São Paulo-SP (Brazil)
2. London (England, United Kingdom)
3. France

Food travel destinations:

1. São Paulo-SP (Brazil)
2. Minas Gerais Brazil)
3. Thailand

Destinations with the best LGBTQIA+ tourism promotion:

1. Spain
2. USA
3. Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil)

Unmissable but not friendly destinations:

1. Egypt
2. Budapest (Hungary)
3. Morocco / Namibia

With information from UOL