An increasing number of people want to see the world — and many of them want to do it alone. A survey conducted by MMGY Globalfound that 1 in 4 people would solo travel in 2018, and there’s a growing market of tech and tours for these independent adventure seekers.
The travel industry is seeing an uptick in female solo travelers in particular. And much has been said about safety practices for women traveling alone, from sharing your itinerary to concealing cash in a tampon applicator.
But additional safety precautions are often required when you’re part of the LGBTQ community. “The potential dangers that a straight, cisgender woman might experience on the road are often considerably different than the risks associated with being gay, transgender and/or nonbinary in a foreign country, but they all share an implicit threat of violence,” wrote Steph Koyfman of Babbel — a language-learning app — in a three-part guide dedicated to solo female and LGBTQ travel.