June can come and go just like any other month. But Bendra Howard, the bisexual activist known as the “Mother of Pride,” made sure it would be a month the LGBTQ community would always remember. In 1970, she worked with a committee of committed activists to plan New York’s first Gay Pride Week and Christopher Street Day Pride events. Then it helped hundreds of New Yorkers feel comfortable and confident in their identity – enough to protest their community’s past that therapy had gone on too long. Now it’s helping millions of people around the world – including me – express themselves.

I attended my first Pride in London when I was in my 20s. I had only recently come out to friends and a few cousins, and had worked up the courage to tell my father. I still remember how anxious I felt that Saturday morning as I rocked up to Soho Square in my pink unicorn dress, desperate to fit in.

As soon as I arrived, I was struck by the relaxed and happy energy of the crowd, making me feel silly for my fears. But becoming vulnerable with my straight friends to gain their support, owning my sexuality and joining the LGBTQ community was a big deal. It was a freedom I had never experienced before, and I was proud to be the cool kid for the first time. That’s why I continue to travel for Pride every year. I bet there are plenty of other people who will travel to the end of the earth and feel the same way I did in London, which is why travel companies are starting to play a more important role in Pride celebrations.

From the beginning, Pride has attracted LGBTQ travelers. The first parades in Los Angeles and New York City on June 28, 1970, drew groups from across the country to unite to commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

With the help of travel companies like Olivia and Exclusive Travel, Pride continues to be a draw for today’s travelers, proving that the demand for travel experiences designed for the cool kid crowd has never been stronger.

John Tanzella, president of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA), said industry support has increased significantly over the past five years. “But this is looking at LGBTQ+ as a whole, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all market,” Tanzella said. “Marketing and outreach in the industry has a long way to go to truly reflect the diversity of our LGBTQ+ travel community.”

For Corritta Lewis, as one half of the two-mom travel family behind the successful blog “It’s a Family Thing,” pride has taken on a deeper meaning since becoming a mother, as a safe space for her son to interact with her children as an LGBTQ family. “It was important for us to see other families that looked like us because we weren’t represented in the mainstream media,” she says. As a result, she looked for not only child-friendly Pride events, but also racially inclusive celebrations. “Before anyone knew we were gay, we were black. Our safety is always our main concern, so we usually celebrate pride in a more acceptable place.”

With the pandemic shutting down many Pride events and the recent rollback of LGBTQ rights in the West, this year’s protests and celebrations are expected to be bigger than ever as people seek connection and community. New York City alone is estimated to have 4 million attendees, while the Pride Index on vacation rental site HomeToGo contains almost four times as many searches for popular Pride destinations in 2,022 as it did in 2019.

Even before the pandemic, the European Travel Commission pointed to Pride as a key area of growth and diversification in travel services, with survey respondents from Russia showing a strong desire to attend Pride while traveling because they have little opportunity to experience it at home. It’s easy for people in progressive regions to take Pride for granted, but traveling to another country for Pride may be the only opportunity for some members of our global community to be true to themselves,” explains Tanzella.

With hate crimes on the rise, feeling safe is not a good thing for LGBTQ travelers. That’s why the travel sector plays a crucial role in furthering acceptance of the cool kids community. “[You] can usually assume that if a country has an official Pride, it might be accepting of LGBTQ+ people, or at least during the Pride, they might be able to experience safety in numbers, both at the Pride itself and at the parties and events around it,” says lesbian journalist and author of Cool Kids Intentions: Through A Personal Journey through LGBTQ+ Culture” and “We Can Do Better,” says Amelia Abraham, a lesbian journalist and author of the book

She advises cool travelers to be careful when going in and out of Pride-especially if you don’t know the area you’re commuting to or aren’t sure of local attitudes toward the community-and to watch for signs of LGBTQ acceptance, such as “safety is crucial to having fun, and unfortunately, until everyone around the world is Unfortunately, we have a lot of work to do before everyone around the world is more accepting,” Abrahams added.

While Pride has attracted travelers and increased industry and brand support, cynicism around Pride’s corporatization is on the rise. Like the Rainbow Cleanse, Pride events sponsored by big brands may go further than they really are, risking complacency in the fight for universal LGBTQ rights. As a result, smaller, more political Pride protests have emerged, such as Black Pride UK and Trans+ Pride London, while ongoing discussions about what an intersectional event advocating for more marginalized groups might look like are underway.

While there is still much work to be done to make the movement truly inclusive, Pride is still a great way to meet people and, as Abraham points out, a wonderful introduction to the culture of cool kids in other countries.

For LGBTQ people planning a Pride trip this summer, she recommends getting to know the area and connecting with locals while you’re there. “Speaking from experience [when going to research Queer Intentions], it can help us feel a part of something bigger, a global LGBTQ+ community, and can give us a sense of our privilege.”

With homosexuality still illegal in 69 countries and LGBTQ rights under threat in “progressive” countries, now is a critical time for tourism to help increase the visibility, representation and safety of the community.

“It’s often hotels and other tourism businesses that take the lead in creating welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ travelers, even when governments are lagging behind,” Tanzerra said.

Perhaps that’s why LGBTQ+ travel companies and pride-centric travel are so important. In catering to LGBTQ+ travelers, the industry not only helps us explore the world fearlessly, but it can also bring greater understanding and help the movement liberate cool kids around the world – so we never have to worry about sharing who we are with those we love, or the world at large, again.