Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
State's pamphlet,
A Safe Trip Abroad,
for ways to experience a trouble-
free journey. The pamphlet is available by mail from the Superinten-
dent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402; via the Internet at
www.gpoaccess.gov
; or via the Bureau
of Consular Affairs home page at http://trav el.state.gov.
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SPECIALIZED TRAVEL
RESOURCES
In addition to the destination-specific resources listed below, please
visit Frommers.com for additional specialized travel resources.
GAY & LESBIAN TRAVELERS
Most of the gay and lesbian community r egards the Cayman I slands
as gay-hostile as opposed to gay-friendly. No island in the Caribbean
is completely gay-friendly , ev en the mor e liberal destinations like
Puerto Rico and S t. C roix. B ut the go vernment of the Cayman
Islands has been par ticularly vocal in expressing its anti-gay attitudes
with no apologies for its mindless pr ejudices.
In 1998 the Cayman Islands government notoriously turned away
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Leeward,
which was carr ying 900 gay pas-
sengers. The tourism dir ectors at G eorge Town stated at the time:
“We cannot count on this group to uphold the standards of appropri-
ate behavior expected of visitors to the Cayman slands.” The decision
drew massiv e pr otest in America, with many gr oups, ev en trav el
agents, discouraging trav el to the Cayman I slands or calling for a
complete boycott of the Cayman Islands.
Although the government officially sanctioned the ban of the
Lee-
ward,
such intolerance is often not endorsed by individual hotel own-
ers, who hav e told us priv ately that they w elcome gay and lesbian
patronage. Nonetheless, the official attitude doesn't make for a happy
vacation, and displays of same-sex affection are severely frowned upon
in Cayman I slands society. There ar e no gay bars or clubs and the
local gay and lesbian community congr egates privately, within indi-
vidual homes.
As a gay or lesbian trav eler, you have to make a personal choice
whether you want to spend y our hard-earned vacation dollars in the
Cayman Islands or if y ou would pr efer to v acation in friendlier and
more tolerant climates.
The
International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA)
(
&
800/448-8550
or 954/776-2626; www .iglta.org) is the trade
association for the gay and lesbian travel industry and offers an online
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