LGBTIQ+ travel barriers and opportunities revealed

Booking.com reveals LGBTIQ+ travel barriers and opportunities in Aotearoa

Despite current travel restrictions, as a platinum sponsor of Winter Pride in Queenstown, Booking.com releases new research that sheds light on challenges faced by LGBTIQ+ travellers and opportunities to make travel more inclusive

The new research is launched alongside ‘Postcards from Pride’ - a local visual campaign in partnership with award-winning Kiwi photographer Becki Moss fundraising for OutLine Aotearoa

Booking.com introduces its free Proud Hospitality program to support accommodation providers in New Zealand delivering more inclusive and welcoming experiences for LGBTIQ+ travellers

Booking.com announces new research with LGBTIQ+ travellers and the launch of Postcards from Pride, a local photo project with award-winning Kiwi photographer Becki Moss.

As a platinum partner of Winter Pride 2021, Booking.com has launched the study and ‘Postcards from Pride’ to shine a spotlight on the attitudes, concerns and travel preferences, as well as past stay experiences, current realities and hopes for a more inclusive travel future.

With travel restrictions resulting in this year’s Winter Pride cancelled, and this key moment of travel and celebration put on hold for LGBTIQ+ communities, it’s more important than ever to reflect on the challenges they face. With this campaign, Booking.com aims to create a more inclusive experience when travel becomes a possibility again, whilst supporting the mental health and well-being of New Zealand’s rainbow communities.

Postcards from Pride

Each ‘Postcard from Pride’ in the project features a diverse representation and stories from LGBTIQ+ travellers across Aotearoa. The stories highlight the challenges faced by the community whilst travelling, and celebrates how travel can make the world a more inclusive place. The postcards are available for purchase for pre-ordered prints, digital and social media versions from the Postcards from Pride website. All proceeds from the campaign will be donated in support of OutLine Aotearoa, which provides a nationwide, free and confidential 0800 support line for the rainbow community.

“I'm super excited to collaborate with Booking.com on Postcards from Pride, as I am passionate about creating spaces for LGBTIQA+ visibility and telling the stories of my

community. I was happy to see that Booking.com is making an active effort to make travel safer and more welcoming to those in the rainbow community,” said Becki Moss.

“We’re thrilled that Booking.com has selected OutLine Aotearoa to donate the proceeds of ‘Postcards from Pride’ and look forward to using this funding to continue providing vital mental health support to rainbow people throughout Aotearoa.”” said Claire Black, General Manager.

LGBTIQ+ Travel Today in Aotearoa

‘Postcards from Pride’ showcases insights from Booking.com's global research with LGBTIQ+ travellers. Key findings include that over half (58%) of LGBTIQ+ Kiwi travellers say they have to consider their safety and wellbeing when picking a destination and over half (60%) also believe that traveling as part of the LGBTIQ+ community means that some destinations are off limits. These extra considerations for LGBTIQ+ people extend across the entire planning and travel journey for those surveyed:

51% believe being LGBTIQ+ impacts the decisions they make when planning a trip, with 44% saying that it has affected their destination bucket list.

Over half (54%) report that being LGBTIQ+ impacts who they choose to travel with. 53% indicate that traveling as an LGBTIQ+ person impacts how they behave with their significant other when traveling together.

Over half (55%) believe being LGBTIQ+ impacts how they present themselves during their trip (e.g. clothing, makeup choices, etc).

While these insights expose the concerns that weigh on many LGBTIQ+ travelers’ minds, often before they’ve even arrived at their destination, there are also more promising signs with 88% of LGBTIQ+ travelers surveyed believing the majority of the experiences they’ve had so far have been welcoming.

More Welcoming Stays for Everyone

To support creating a more inclusive travel experience, today Booking.com is announcing the launch of its Travel Proud programme in Australia and New Zealand. The core of the Travel Proud initiative is for accommodation providers to become a Proud Certified property on the Booking.com platform via a free 75-minute online Proud Hospitality training session that has developed in partnership with HospitableMe.

After completing the online course and making a commitment to deliver a more inclusive experience, Proud Certified partners will receive a Travel Proud badge on their property page to show potential guests that they can rely on a welcoming experience.

“Everything we do at Booking.com is about enabling smoother and more enjoyable travel experiences for everyone - no matter where they come from, who they love or how they identify,” said Todd Lacey, Area Manager New Zealand at Booking.com.

“Despite the barriers and challenges that remain, this underscores an underlying optimism amongst LGBTIQ+ travelers and a growing opportunity for the travel industry to do even better to create more welcoming experiences for everyone. We firmly believe we can get there together and that everyone should be able to experience the world as themselves, always.”

To find out more about Booking.com, its Travel Proud study and ‘Postcards from Pride’, head to the Postcards from Pride website where you can purchase pre-ordered prints, digital and social media versions for $5 NZD with all proceeds going to OutLine Aotearoa.

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*Note to editors: Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of 3,052 LGBTIQ+ travellers from the United States (500), Canada (400), the UK (500), the Netherlands (251), Germany (501), France (500), Australia (300) and New Zealand (100). The survey was taken online and took place in June & July 2021.

About Booking.com:

Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world whenever it’s safe to do so again. By investing in the technology that helps take the friction out of travel, Booking.com seamlessly connects millions of travelers with memorable experiences, a range of transportation options and incredible places to stay - from homes to hotels and much more. As one of the world’s largest travel marketplaces for both established brands and entrepreneurs of all sizes, Booking.com enables properties all over the world to reach a global audience and grow their businesses. Booking.com

is available in 44 languages and offers more than 28 million total reported accommodation listings, including more than 6.6 million listings of homes, apartments and other unique places to stay. No matter where you want to go or what you want to do, Booking.com makes it easy and backs it all up with 24/7 customer support.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, like us on Facebook, and for the latest news, data and insights, please visit our global media room.

About Becki Moss:

Becki Moss is a queer disabled Pākeha creative with a passion for empathetic visual storytelling. Her work focuses on creating meaningful connections with the people she captures before she even picks up the camera and she uses this trust and her work to share stories of communities that are often overlooked, helping people feel seen, validated and heard.

When she's not taking photos, you'll find her doing crochet, listening to podcasts, taking naps, reading books and exploring the outdoors.

About OutLine Aotearoa:

OutLine Aotearoa is the only national, all-ages Rainbow-specific mental health organisation in the country. We’ve been operating since the 70’s in various forms and currently provide a free Chat Support Service, peer support Phoneline, Trans Peer Support Service for trans and non-binary people in Auckland, as well as specialist face-to-face and Skype counselling for Rainbow people across Aotearoa.

You can call us on 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463) or visit outline.org.nz/chat any evening between 6pm and 9pm and speak with one of over 50 trained OutLine volunteers from Rainbow communities throughout Aotearoa. Rainbow people, their friends and whānau get in touch to talk about family relationships, loneliness and isolation, sexuality and gender identity, sexual health, navigating gender-affirming healthcare and meeting people. You can also refer yourself to our specialist counselling service by heading to outline.org.nz/counselling.

OutLine Aotearoa is led, run, and operated by Rainbow people, for Rainbow people (and their friends and whānau!) This makes OutLine uniquely important to Rainbow communities in providing specialist support that understands, values, and holds space for our experiences as Rainbow people.

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