Travel for Pleasure campaign offers perspectives especially for LGBTIQA+ travellers to consider

We are happy to inform you that we have just published our new Travel for Pleasure campaign website in English! The campaign is aimed at gay, bi and other men who have sex with men. On our campaign site, we have collected a few key points which would be good to consider when you want to take care of your sexual health while travelling. Such things are PrEP, PEP, condoms and lubricants, chemsex and club culture, to name a few.

In this article, our specialist Laura Keskinen offers perspectives behind the campaign and shares tips for safer and more pleasureful travel, referring to Teppo Heikkinen’s earlier article: Matkalla nautintoon –kampanja nostaa esiin näkökulmia.

There are many motives for travelling – some are related to sexuality and sex

We travel for many different reasons. We might want to break away from everyday life and routines, relax, enjoy good food, see new places and experience something new. In addition, travelling is also a great way to enjoy and fulfill your sexuality. We know that many gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men travel a lot, and they have their own favourite destinations, events, services and areas of interest. Therefore, we wanted to create the Travel for Pleasure campaign especially for this group.

For sexual and gender minorities, it might be easier to relax and be open about their identity and sexuality at a travel destination than at home.

Travelling can also offer wider opportunities for social togetherness and sexual relationships, more sex and partners, new ways to have sex, anonymity, easier opportunities for group sex and wider opportunities for fetish culture and sex.

Safety and LGBTIQA+ friendly services first

It is important for many gay, bi and other men who have sex with men to travel to places where the atmosphere is more accepting, one can be more open and relaxed about themselves and there’s a lower risk of encountering discrimination or violence.

Other important criteria for a travel destination can be that there are LGBTIQA+ friendly services are available. Many travel destinations’ hotels, bars, stores etc. also have free brochures with information about the local services. These services are often also available as maps.

In the past, the Spartacus travel guidebook (almost 1,000 pages at its peak!) was an important source of information for many sexual and gender minority travellers for decades. The guidebook is no longer published in print but various services can be accessed through Spartacus’ website. It might be convenient to download the Spartacus app on your phone, which makes it easier to browse services.

How to take care of your sexual health while travelling?

The prevalence of HIV and other STIs is higher in many travel destination countries than in Finland. In addition, various bacteria and viruses that cause STIs can also spread quickly through unprotected sex at travel destinations where people come from many parts of the world. It has been shown that the prevalence of STIs has significantly increased in Finland and the rest of the world. Therefore, it was significant to create a campaign focused on travel and sexual health.

For us at Hivpoint, it is important that LGBTIQA+ travellers can take care of their sexual health in a way that suits them best. The Travel for Pleasure campaign provides a collection of important information that is good to keep in mind while travelling. You can learn more about these subjects on our Travel for Pleasure campaign site. Safe travels!