Rainbow tourism as an indicarot of social sustainable destination: A comparison between Naples and Valencia

Fabio Corbisiero
Antón Freire Varela
Abstract

In recent years, LGBTQIA+ tourism has transitioned from a niche market, practiced by a limited number of people in a specific and reduced territorial space, to becoming one of the most important assets for many destinations, ranging from small coastal towns to large metropolises. LGBTQIA+ people are among those social groups whose enjoying tourism and travelling experiences is still limited, due to heteronormative, binary social structures and homophobia.
Therefore, the degree of acceptance of LGBTQIA+ tourism and tourists at a destination can be considered an interesting proxy
of the social sustainability of tourism. This article analyzes the sustainability of two urban tourism destinations in the Mediterranean
context from a queer perspective: Naples (Italy) and Valencia (Spain). The comparison has been based on the “sustainable rainbow destination model” of Corbisiero and Monaco (2022). The analysis cover various dimensions, such as the socio-normative framework, destination promotion, and social acceptance. To this end, empirical research has been carried out to improve this model and to enable a comparison between cities.

Article Details

Keywords:
LGBTQIA+ tourism, rainbow destination, sustainable tourism, Naples, Valencia
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