Malta Ranked Safest Travel Destination For LGBTQI+ Holidaymakers By UK-Based Comparison Website
Planning a trip sometimes requires a little advanced planning. But as far as safety is concerned, LGBTQI+ holidaymakers can rest assured that Malta takes the cake. At least, according to one study.
The study was carried out by Merchant Machine, an information and comparison website based in the United Kingdom (UK).
Merchant Machine analysed metrics such as the level of protection against LGBTQI+ hate crime and speech and gay marriage laws. It also looked at crime statistics on a general level, including robbery rates, crime indexes, and the peacefulness of each country according to the Global Peace Index.
All things considered, Malta topped the list as the safest destination for any LGBTQI+ holidayers. The country scored a travel safety index of 369. Not bad, considering that the UK trailed at ninth, with a score of 346.
Malta also scored a robbery rate of 47, the second lowest of all countries studied.
Malta’s travel security risk rating was 1, classified as ‘low’ on a scale ranging from zero to four. A country with a low-risk rating was deemed politically and socially stable with few prominent security concerns and low levels of non-violent crime.
You can have a look at the entire list by clicking here.
And which is the most dangerous destination for LGBTQI+ travelers?
Russia scored the lowest LGBTQI+ travel safety score of any country on the list (-1), landing bottom for its anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination policy, prevalence of LGBTQI+ hate crime and speech, and lack of marriage equality.
Israel was the second most dangerous country, followed by Turkey, Mexico, and South Korea.
Last May, Malta was made the highest-ranked country for LGBT rights for seventh consecutive year, as determined by the LGBT lobby group ILGA. The group placed Malta on top of the list with an overall score of 92% across seven key areas.
Over the last decade, Malta made significant progress for the LGBT community, including the introduction of civil unions, adoption and cohabitation rights for same-sex couples, inclusive education and some of the most advanced policies concerning gender expression in the world.
Merchant Machine based the study on 38 OECD countries, and ranked each country across several categories: LGBTQI+ travel safety, hate crime and speech laws, rights to marry, robbery, crime rates, travel security risk, and general peacefulness.
The entity is known to engage in numerous campaigns, most notably on the Rise of Gen Z businesses, ‘Savvy Spenders’ and of course, LGBTQI+ safety in travel.