Rethinking Gay Tourism: A Review of Literature

This paper presents an exploratory overview of the emergence of gay travel market as well as the travel motivations of gay men and women. Moreover, it is suggested that there is a parallel between gay space and gay travel motivations. However, little research has been undertaken on the outcomes of societal change and increased acceptance of homosexuality and its impact on the gay tourist motivations. The present paper reveals that gay tourism literature has failed to catch up with the changing societal environment, therefore the stereotyped and generalised projections on the motivations and social behaviours of gay travellers have perpetrated a distorted understanding of gay travel market.