LGBT tourist decision-making and behaviours. A study of Millennial Italian tourists

Abstract

Purpose: Sociological researches about tourism of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are growing in number. These studies are carried out mainly in Anglo-Saxon countries, although nowadays tour operators, travel agencies, cruise and airline companies have started to reserve more and more services and promotions to this group of travellers all around the world. To fill this gap, the paper presents the results of a research that involved 650 Italian LGBT Millennial travellers. Design/methodology/approach: Using the exploratory technique of multiple correspondence analysis, the research focussed on the study of decision-making processes, finding out the factors that drive young LGBT people to prefer one destination over the others, distinguishing motivations between pull and push factors. Findings: For Italian LGBT Millennials, tourism means more than just recreation. Tourism could also represent a strategy that gives them temporary escape from social prejudice and inequality, since tourist experiences provide an opportunity to re-build LGBT people' sexual identity and enjoy social freedom that LGBT people are deprived of whilst being at home. Originality/value: The analysis allowed to underline some differences. Even if LGBT people share the burden of being as a member of a sexual and gender minority, LGBT people attribute a slightly different meaning to tourism, considering distinct push and pull factors.