Intersectional examination of travel well-being and activities of LGB travellers

Abstract

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) people can experience discrimination because of their minoritized status, which can be exacerbated when they come from a less privileged group or background compared to the rest of society. Travel can play a unique role in their lives by providing an opportunity to escape the constrictors of how one is defined and positioned in their home environment. The experiences enabled through travel can help build capacities that enhance well-being and the ability to cope with prejudice at home. This paper explores how LGB people with intersectional identities perceive the role of travel in contributing to their well-being and the activities they participate in while travelling. We frame intersectionality as one’s sexual orientation and the differences arising from one’s relative socioeconomic status. Through an online survey of 473 Australian LGB people, we identify five well-being segments, which differed on their socioeconomic status, travel activity choices, and sexual orientation. The results have implications for how travel is a well-being tool that supports different segments of LGB people through the provision of pleasure activities while also facilitating self-development, social contribution, and minimizing the impact of negative experiences on day-to-day life.

Keywords:

• LGB
• lesbian
• gay
• bisexual
• queer
• travel well-being
• travel activities
• intersectionality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Girish Prayag

Dr. Girish Prayag is a Professor of Marketing in the Department of Management, Marketing and Tourism at UC Business School. His research area includes tourist behaviour and organizational resilience. He is co-author of Tourism and Resilience published by Channel View. He has co-authored more than 100 peer reviewed journal articles and published these in journals such as Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Sustainable Tourism and Industrial Marketing Management. He is the current editor of method and practice for Current Issues in Tourism and specialty editor for Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism.

Clifford Lewis

Dr. Clifford Lewis is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Charles Sturt University. His research focuses on inclusivity within a rural context–specifically considering the LGBTQI+ community. Before beginning his academic career, he was the Head of State (NSW) for a global market research company. In that role, he worked on projects related to regional tourism products, experience and campaign development as well as destination planning. His PhD focused on destination branding and meaning creation.

Shah Pour

Dr. Shah Pour is a tourism consumer behaviour researcher, and has been working in the School of Business and Creative Industries as a lecturer, Tourism, Leisure and Event Management since March, 2017.