On June 13, during the Diversa Awards 2024, The first five places adhered to the competition were officially presented. Spanish Network of Destinations for Diversity: Torremolinos, the province of Ávila (through its Provincial Council), La Palma, Torrejón de Ardoz and Gandia. This initiative was born as a “collaborative effort between companies, institutions and tourist destinations to promote more inclusive tourism and a business environment, especially with regard to the LGTB+ community,” details Juan Martín Boll, director of the consulting firm JN Global Project, its promoter.
“We have the largest Pride celebration in Europe [en Madrid], an advanced and tolerant society, and progressive laws,” says Martín Boll regarding Spain. The new network is, he adds, one more push in the same direction. An attempt, also, to take advantage of the slipstream of the celebrations and locations that are already famous among LGBTI travelers to give visibility to other places in the country. And this community represents more than 10% of the volume of tourists and 15% of global tourist spending, according to data from UN Tourism (former World Tourism Organization).
A destination that aspires to enter this network must prepare to welcome diversity, says Martín Boll. Commit to taking measures for inclusion, carry out campaigns against LGTBIphobia in your territory, organize training spaces that raise awareness in your business sector, with special attention to those who are most in the public eye: commerce, hospitality, accommodation. “We will carry out audits to verify that these commitments are met. If we see that this is not the case, we will warn and give time for improvement; Ultimately, we will invite fate to leave,” he states bluntly.
Province of Ávila: Small pride of Spain, Great pride of Castilla
The more than 250 towns in the province of Ávila, some tiny, display a sign with a rainbow background that reads “LIGTBIphobia-free space.” It is told by Alfonso González Garrido, director of Ávila LGTB Pride, which has had four editions—the first, in a pandemic, in a private space, with masks and a safe distance—, increasingly crowded. That of 2024 will be celebrated on July 13, with Chayo Mohedano as godmother. She was born from Arco Ávila citizen platform, and is known as the “Small Pride of Spain, Great Pride of Castilla”. It is in this climate of LGTBI boom and visibility that the province’s accession to the Spanish Network of Destinations for Diversity is framed. “The City Council is also going to join shortly; “It has been approved in full and unanimously,” says Martín Boll.
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“Ávila offers History and culture”, emphasizes González Garrido. The wall, the cathedral, the religious buildings and the palaces and ancestral homes, a lot of university life, the figure of Saint Teresa of the Cross, omnipresent. And the nature of Sierra de Gredos. “That the LGTBI public only likes the night and the party is a cliché,” says Martín Boll, who defends the interest in the group’s culture. Also for gastronomy, wine tourism or family getaways, with excursions and accommodation in a rural house. The province of Avila has all this, he highlights. However, and for those who want a nightlife, the bars are safe spaces, guarantees González Garrido. “People may not be as open as in other parts of Spain, but they are tremendously respectful and tolerant,” he emphasizes.
Torremolinos (Málaga): Aspiring to celebrate Europride in 2027
If Ávila aspires to be on the map of LGTBI tourism, Torremolinos has been well marked for years, in a big way, and with fluorescent lights. The town of Malaga is a candidate to celebrate the Europride in 2027. The leisure plans dedicated to the group have their own section within their tourism website, where it is presented as “one of the most tolerant cities in Europe.” Hotels, nightclubs and bars; sport, sun and beach.
Added to all this is a program that, in addition to the multitudinous and festive Torremolinos Pride (which this year took place between May 29 and June 2), has several festivals and musical events this summer: Aphrodite Party Tardeo Perreo (June 22nd), Bear Fest (July 17 to 21), love fest (July 20 to 23) or Matrix Sun Festival (from August 20 to 25).
Gandia (Valencian Community): the Mr. Gay gala is just the beginning
On May 25, Gandia hosted the Gala Mr. Gay Valencian Community 2024, billed as “a show full of talent and commitment to diversity.” It was, among other things, a bid to put the Valencian municipality on the map as a friendly and inclusive destination, within its strategy for diversification, as Balbina Sendra, its tourism councilor, has defended. “We want it to be organized again next year, and that the activities are not limited to Friday and Saturday, but rather last a whole week, with the Mr. Gay Gala as the culmination,” asks José Navarro, until a few months ago president of the Safor Association of Tourism and Hotel Entrepreneurs.
The association and the City Council processed, hand in hand, Gandia’s accession to the Spanish Network of Destinations for Diversity. “This is a joint effort; We developed a very good public-private collaboration in tourism matters since the pandemic,” says Navarro. Local hoteliers are aware of how important their role is in welcoming and normalizing diversity: “Our staff is sensitized; We have internal training. “We want to raise awareness among our clients, so that they support us.”
La Palma (Canary Islands): party and commitment as a tourist attraction
Isla Bonita Love Festival It has been held for several years on La Palma under the motto “Commitment to diversity and freedom.” The 2024 edition will take place between July 22 and 28, with Ricky Martin and Martin Garrix as the main musical dishes (July 27, in the Port of Tazacorte). Along with the concerts, the event incorporates other cultural proposals, such as theater or monologues, and awareness actions; is the festival’s social agenda (this year’s has not yet been made public). The Cabildo believes that this double leg, festive and commitment, reflects very well the work that has been taking place on the island “so that all people can express themselves freely and love without fear.” These have been their arguments for joining the Spanish Network of Destinations for Diversity.
Torrejón de Ardoz (Community of Madrid): music for everyone
Torrejón Summer Fest It is the brand under which the Torrejón de Ardoz City Council has encompassed the concerts that are organized in the Madrid town from May to October (when the patron saint festivities are celebrated). From June 21 to 26 are the popular festivals, with large free concerts by Myke Towers, María Becerra, Nicki Nicole, Bonnie Tyler, Edurne, Falete (although only those from Torrejoneros will be able to access the first three with an invitation). In September, Toreros Muertos, Don’t tread on me, I’m wearing flip flops, Seguridad Social, Rafa de La Unión or Chimo Bayo will perform. “We like to say that we are a fashionable city,” says the mayor, Alejandro Navarro. A city that seeks to enhance, diversify and deseasonalize tourism, as he lists. Its adherence to the network will be a draw to attract more visitors, in summer and winter: its second highlight of the year is its Magical Christmas.
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