Spain has been declared the top destination in Europe for gay tourists.
Worldwide, the US is remains the most desirable place for gay visitors.
A report from LGBT Capital notes that Spain beat both France and the UK in popularity which was put down to its equal rights legislation. The country legalised same-sex marriages in 2005.
That legislation, however, is in juxtaposition to the country’s controversial ‘Citizen Security’ legislation, often dubbed as a ‘gagging law’, which curtails freedom of expression and assembly and imposes sharp fines for transgressions.
Visitors to Spain from the gay community contribute about €6.1 billion to the country’s economy.
For France the figure is €5.9 billion and for the UK it is €4.38 billion while the Italian economy benefits from €4.1 billion.
But the US benefits the most with nearly €20 billion, according to LGBT Capital, an investment firm based in the British Virgin Islands that focuses on gay-themed assets.
LGBT tourism represents an estimated 10% of the global industry but gay people are not shy about spending, so they account for more than 15% of the tourism revenue.
Madrid’s gay pride parade may be one of the biggest worldwide, and there are also well-attended parades in cities such as Barcelona, Valencia and Seville as well as in Sitges, Tenerife and Benidorm.
