Ja improves in gay travel ranking - But still worst in the Americas
Published:Friday | March 8, 2019 | 12:19 AM
Jamaica improved its overall rank on the gay traveller index, but remained the least friendly destination in the hemisphere, according to the global Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2019 report.
The negative experiences of some gay travellers and hosts alike underscore the divide.
“Never again,” said Daniell, a manager in the financial sector who decided to rent his two-bedroom apartment in Norbrook to lesbians, but regretted the experience. He requested that his last name be withheld due to what he describes as the sensitive nature of his job.
“I gave them a hug, but in the review they said ‘Find another method to greet guests’,” recalled Daniell in describing how tension started brewing from the front door.
Daniell, who is in his 40s, considers himself tolerant, practises yoga and respects the teaching of Rastafari. But he said of his lesbian guests that he felt “their presence” in his apartment even when they were out on the town.
Despite the apprehension of hosts like Daniell, Jamaica has climbed 15 rungs on the gay index and now ranks 159, up from 174 in the previous year, according to Spartacus, which has published a travel guide since the 1970s.
Canada, Portugal and Sweden led this year’s gay travel index, while the world’s least tolerant territory was Chechnya in Eastern Europe, at 196 on the list. Within the Caribbean, the best gay travel destinations were Puerto Rico and Cuba, at 35 and 47, respectively.
For Jamaica, the report noted that the island showed improvement in its tolerance in relation to gay Pride events. Last year, Jamaica held its fourth staging of Pride events, a month-long celebration of the LGBT community. It involves parties, marches, civic activities, plays and sporting events in Kingston and Montego Bay.
Outside of Pride, Jamaica’s performance in other criteria on the index were unchanged.
The index weighs anti-discrimination laws, legal marriage or partnership, legal adoption, transgender rights, equal age of consent, religious influence, HIV travel restrictions, anti-gay laws, hostility of locals, prosecution, murders and death sentences to score travel destinations.
Requests to Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett for comment on the new report were unanswered.