In order to help LGBTQ+ tourists travel safely, the German portal Spartacus started publishing the Gay Travel Index in 2012. In the 2025 edition, the ranking compared 215 countries and territories based on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people in each location.
According to the index, Canada, Iceland, Malta, Portugal and Spain are jointly considered the safest and most open places for LGBT+ travelers in 2025, with each of these five countries receiving the maximum of 13 points. According to the report, Greece, Thailand and Curaçao stand out for having significantly improved their rankings since 2024 in light of the adoption of laws introducing marriage equality. Greece rose from 38th to 15th place, while Thailand, the first Southeast Asian country to grant same-sex partnerships equal status to heterosexual marriage, jumped from 54th to 41st place and Curaçao improved from 70th to 58th position.
At the other end of the spectrum come (in descending order) the Republic of Chechnya in Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, each with a score of -21 points or below, signaling that they are dangerous countries for LGBT+ travelers, where homosexuals are persecuted and killed. The United States dropped from 41st position to 48th, following U.S. Donald Trump’s administration’s restriction of transgender rights. Georgia, however, has seen the greatest drop, plummeting from 109th to 162 position, as it has faced heavy Russian influence, according to Spartacus.
To develop the index, the creators looked at 18 categories ranging from marriage for all to the death penalty for LGBTQ+ people. The creators focus on political decisions affecting queer people, the legal framework and whether there are episodes of violence against them, among other parameters.
According to the authors of the report, the index is intended with all kinds of travelers in mind, including those looking to travel to countries where the LGBT+ community is an accepted and loved part of society as well as for those consciously looking to travel to a country in order to enter into a dialogue with the oppressed local queer community.
