Greece Teams Up with ‘Queer Destinations’, Aims to Be Hotspot for LGBTQ+ Travelers

Queer Destinations Founder Oriol Pamies, Greek Tourism Minister olga Kefalogianni and Queer Destinations CEO Edgar Weggelaar.

Aiming to spread the word that Greece is a friendly country for LGBTQ+ travellers, Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the company Queer Destinations, a prominent entity in LGBTQ+ tourism.

The move comes just after Greek Parliament recently adopted a bill legalising same-sex marriage and adoption.

Recognized by the IGLTA (International LGBTQ+ Tourism Association), Queer Destinations is a bridge that connects businesses, institutions, and destinations with the LGBTQ+ segment.

“As a country that cares about equality, diversity and inclusion, Greece recognizes the importance of creating an environment where all travelers feel welcome. This objective runs through all our other main objectives and policies in the ministry of tourism,” Kefalogianni said during a press conference.

The signing of the MoU between the Greek Tourism Ministry and Queer Destinations.

Greece is the 15th country to join forces with Queer Destinations and aims to spread the word that the country is a safe and inclusive destination for LGBTQ+ travelers.

“Queer Destinations aims for inclusion in tourism experiences and acts as a link between governments, destinations and tourism businesses. To this end it has developed the ‘Queer Destinations Committed’ program/seal of distinction, an award that ensures excellence, quality and safety for LGBTQ+ travelers,” the minister said.

Kefalogianni highlighted that attracting more visitors from the LGBTQ+ community is included in the Tourism Ministry’s strategy and is also among the new goals to increase revenue.

Citing official data, Kefalogianni said the LGBTQ+ travel community represents over 10 percent of the global demand and some 16 percent of total expenditures in the tourism sector.

“In absolute numbers it exceeds 195 billion US dollars,” she added.

Attracting more LGBTQ+ travelers to Greece

Queer Destinations Founder Oriol Pamies presenting the action plan for the development of the first LGBTQ+ tourism strategy for Greece.

During the press conference, Kefalogianni said the ministry will soon carry out communication actions to promote LGBTQ+ tourism in Greece and also launch a special campaign to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community.

“There will be promotion through social media that Greece is a friendly country,” she said, adding that the Visit Greece website will soon be updated with places of interest, an interactive map and useful information for LGBTQ+ travelers.

Moreover, Kefalogianni stressed the importance of informing and raising awareness among Greece’s tourism businesses and local communities. The minister then announced a collaboration with the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels for the organization of seminars for employees in the tourism field in order to educate them on diversity and inclusion issues.

Kefalogianni also highlighted that the ministry fully supports events related to the LGBTQ+ community such as the Pride Festivals held in both Athens and Thessaloniki.

“The EuroPride 2024 festival will take place in Thessaloniki next June and the ministry will support this event with specific promotional actions,” she said.

Concluding her speech, Kefalogianni said Greece is open and welcoming to all travelers with its most “structural elements” being acceptance, respect, inclusion and diversity.

“The policy to attract LGBTQ+ tourism will contribute to a bright future for Greek tourism where everyone will feel welcome to discover the beauty of Greece and the unique travel experiences it can offer,” she said.

Queer Destinations will aim to sensitize Greek tourism professionals

Queer Destinations runs an educational program for businesses, institutions, and destinations, available in five languages.

Following the signing of the MoU, Queer Destinations CEO Edgar Weggelaar gave a presentation of the company, underlining that it has already sensitized more than 120,000 people worldwide in areas including hospitality, tourism transportation, restaurants, tourism activities and museums.

“These people did our training and understood how to treat well the LGBTQ+ segment in their properties,” Weggelaar said, adding that Queer Destinations has developed the LGBTQ+ tourism strategy for both Mexico and Spain.

“We were selected as the only company that is avoiding rainbow-washing and is really doing an effort to change the mentality of the industry in accordance to the European transition pathway for tourism by the European Commission,” he said.

Queer Destinations last year became an Associate Member of the European Travel Commission (ETC), a non-profit organization comprising 35 national tourism organizations, representing key destinations in Europe and aiming to promote tourism globally.

According to Queer Destinations, the partnership with the ETC signifies a new era in tourism, emphasizing diversity and inclusion as fundamental values.

“Greece is the first that has joined Queer Destinations after the signature with the ETC,” Weggelaar said.

Queer Destinations Founder Oriol Pamies.

On his part, Queer Destinations Founder Oriol Pamies highlighted the fact that Greece already had a “very good reputation” for the LGBTQ+ community.

“And that was even before having marriage equality and before having a strategy like this one… After today, Greece is going to jump into the top countries in terms of where LGBTQ+ people want to visit and this is very important,” he added.