There are a number of countries in the world where many queer people can travel safely, but queer locals experience interpersonal discrimination or government oppression.

As someone who enjoys international travel, how do you evaluate potential destinations? Which factors are important to you and which can be dealt with? Is there any chance that we, as tourists, can change attitudes in the long run and if so, is that part of your decision-making calculus?

Let’s assume as a precondition that you’ve deemed that your personal security as a tourist won’t be seriously at risk, so that we can confine our discussion to ethics: how our actions affect other people, even when we ourselves are unaffected.

Let’s further humbly admit that many of us are living in a country that could easily be on someone’s list of no-go countries. My goal here is not to judge other cultures or endorse certain destinations over others, but to learn from others’ decision-making process – potentially for domestic travel as well.