After completing an ambition to visit all 50 states, queer travel writer Lindsey Danis saw first-hand how the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights across the USA transformed their quest from joyful milestone to moral compromise. Now, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is also reshaping where LGBTQ+ travelers are visiting. She shares what this means for travelers to the US.
It was cherry blossom season in Washington, DC—my first domestic destination after visiting all 50 states—and National Guard troops prowled the streets. The sight of gun-toting troops did not put my mind at ease. It made America feel like a surveillance state.
I’ll spare you the hand-wringing. I know the US has never lived up to its lofty ideals, that America has never been the ‘land of the free’ it proclaims to be. But at 250, I believe America is less safe and welcoming for anyone whose existence threatens the reactionary right’s sensibilities, notably LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and people of color.
While visiting deeply red states like Louisiana and Mississippi, I got a taste of how anti-LGBTQ laws altered my behavior as a tourist. I watched my back and avoided being affectionate with my wife in public. Rather than chat with locals, I avoided them, since I couldn’t tell where they stood politically. I endured being a second-class citizen for a quest I’d committed to in simpler times. But now that my journey to every state is done, I am, too.
And I’m not the only one questioning US travel or modifying my behavior in risky situations.
For my guide to queer travel, (Out) On the Road: The Radical Joy of Queer Travel, I tracked the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and LGBTQ+ travelers’ changing behaviors. On the LGBTQ+ accommodations booking site misterb&b, there were 66 percent fewer US bookings from Canadian travelers and 32 percent fewer US bookings from European travelers between February and April 2025.
Among travelers who made US reservations, booking patterns showed a preference for blue States over red ones; with travelers even avoiding liberal safe havens in red states, such as Salt Lake City, Austin and Phoenix.
Trips not taken have an impact. Tourism contributed USD$11.6 trillion to the world economy in 2025, and international visitor numbers are up in every country except one: America.
Gay Canadian travel blogger Brian Webb describes the calculations LGBTQ+ travelers now have to make when considering visiting the US. On his blog The Homo Culture, he writes that gay travelers are looking for “vacations that feel easy from the moment they leave home” and “a US trip now comes with extra mental load.”
Gay travelers, broadly speaking, tend to be planners––I certainly am––and want certainty, rather than the confusing patchwork of different protections and rights when you cross state lines. Gay travelers have shifted their travel spending further south, booking trips to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, among other destinations.
In 2025, the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) conducted a study on the impact of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Florida, home of the infamous ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law which bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 public school classrooms.
Their data indicated that 47 percent of global travelers perceived Florida as unwelcoming and would be reluctant to visit, though they would consider making an exception for LGBTQ-welcoming cities within the state . Their report acknowledged what a broader travel industry has so far been unable to—that for LGBTQ+ visitors, no glossy campaign, tourist attraction, or big event is going to outweigh the safety concerns.
Anthony Warner, interim CEO of IGLTA, says that for LGBTQ+ travelers, vacations can offer the opportunity to be their full selves in ways they may not be able to at home.
“We’re hearing more and more from international members who are questioning whether they feel comfortable visiting the US,” he says in an email, “and from trans and gender diverse travelers who are having to consider whether a destination is worth the potential risks. Policies have real-world consequences. They don’t just influence where LGBTQ+ people choose to travel; they impact the local businesses, destinations, and workers who rely on tourism.”
Leading up to the World Cup, over 100 organizations signed on to a World Cup travel advisory that acknowledges the targeting of immigrants, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals by the Trump administration and urges precautions.
Warnings like these fall short of a travel ban or boycott. Their purpose is informational and educating travelers of risks—which in this case include being denied entry despite having the right visa, denied entry over social media posts, surveillance and detention, and possible death while in custody—to name a few things US visitors now have to prepare for.
“’Welcoming’ ’is not a buzzword, but a standard that should be embedded in the DNA of the travel industry.”
- Anthony Warner, interim CEO, IGLTA
While travel advisories may seem like virtual signaling, they are effective. 52 percent of travelers who saw a travel advisory over Florida’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, issued by the NAACP and Equality Florida, canceled or reconsidered trips there.
Trips not taken have an impact. Tourism contributed USD$11.6 trillion to the world economy in 2025, and international visitor numbers are up in every country except one: America. The US had four million fewer international visitors last year, and it’s not hard to understand why.
Travelers aren’t avoiding the US because visas cost too much. They’re not skipping the World Cup because FIFA’s choice to use dynamic pricing has enraged global fans. They simply don’t want to be harassed or harmed on what should be a fun vacation—and they don’t want their tourist dollars to prop up a government that may have gone to war with Iran to bury the Epstein files.
The US travel industry should be outraged—if not over the damage done to Brand America, then over the lost dollars and jobs. Instead, it’s acting as if everything is normal, hyping the World Cup and America’s big day, as if all that’s needed to woo tourists back to the USA is positive spin.
Destination marketers have to sell their story, I get it, but the patriotic boosterism is gaslighting. As Warner says, “’Welcoming’ ’is not a buzzword, but a standard that should be embedded in the DNA of the travel industry.”
The dip in visitor numbers isn’t a one-off response to a particular policy shift, or a moralizing stance, it’s the only logical response from global travelers unwilling to risk harm or trade freedoms for a fun trip. States that continue to market business as usual, ignore or downplay the risks are failing to meet the moment, and they’ll continue losing tourist dollars to destinations that don’t just say they welcome everyone, but actually mean it.
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Lindsey Danis is a queer travel writer and the author of '(Out) On the Road: The Radical Joy of Queer Travel'. Lindsey's travel stories have appeared in AAA, AFAR, Condé Nast Traveler, and GayCities, among other publications. Lindsey lives in the Hudson Valley with her wife and two dogs, where you can find her hiking, kayaking, and exploring new mountain towns.
