GOING VIRAL
COVID-19 is a bitch, but virus or not, the travel industry is doing its best to provide safer holidays, and some gay travellers are not letting Miss Corona stop them, as we discovered
How the travel industry is weathering the storm whipped up by Miss Corona
Sitges, Mykonos, Gran Canaria… These have been the top gay holiday destinations since forever. But how are they coping in the face of the coronavirus, which doesn’t appear to be relinquishing its grip any time soon? It seems you can get used to COVID restrictions, to an extent. Holiday companies and destinations have incorporated protective measures which are now provided as standard. But there’s no escaping that the coronavirus is changing if, how and where we travel. We explored how Miss Corona is affecting our queer holiday hotspots as well as other pink-tinted destinations.
For the traditional favourites, there’s hope on the horizon. “A survey among gay holidaymakers revealed that more than 46 per cent are planning to visit the same destinations as they did prior to the coronavirus crisis,” says John Tanzella, head of IGLTA – the world’s largest umbrella organisation of gay-friendly travel companies. “There is a remarkable sense of customer loyalty, in other words. That’s good news for travel destinations that traditionally rely on visitors from the LGBTQ community. On the other hand, it’s also logical, because if restrictions are lifted at a later stage, then many gays will want to go to areas that are also frequented by a lot of other gays.”
Someone who is less convinced about customer loyalty is Juan Julia, director of Axel Hotels, the Spanish chain that caters for the LGBTQ community. As well as Spain, it also has hotels in Miami and Berlin. “The world has undergone such a re-shuffle that travellers may well stay away from those major cities hardest hit by the coronavirus, or areas where many people congregate,” says Juan.
Travel is part of the gay lifestyle, but the apprehension around taking a holiday overseas is considerable. Not just because of the health risks involved, but also because of travellers’ fear of getting trapped in a second lockdown while they are abroad.
There’s no doubt that in order to get people holidaying normally again, the arrival of a vaccine is absolutely essential. Marc Dedonder is the co-owner of misterb&b, a website offering gay-friendly private houses and apartments, but also hotel accommodation. “A recent survey among the users of our services revealed that the availability of a vaccine is indeed the overriding factor for people to start travelling extensively once again. I have every faith that they will have developed something by May next year.”
Juan Julia is also hoping for the swift introduction of a vaccine – which he thinks could happen as soon as the next few months. “Then the situation will improve very quickly — for the entire world of course — but therefore also for the travel industry. I think we will be back to the old levels in about a year.”
“The urge for sex is stronger than the fear of COVID-19”
The flip side of the COVID coin is that there are bargains to be had for those still happy to travel, as Uwern Jong of gay travel magazine OutThere reveals: “Hotel prices have dropped significantly in certain destinations, and there are some great deals on offer, such as a threenight stay for the price of two. Many of the restaurants have also amended their prices. In some locations, such as Mykonos, that really makes a difference. Also, there’s no need to make a reservation, and you aren’t packed like sardines any more while walking through the narrow historical streets. There are huge amounts of fantastic offers as well. This is the perfect time to fly to Iceland, for instance!”
Sitges
In normal times, people from all over the planet would be shuffling through the streets of this Spanish gay hotspot, but today, it’s predominantly the Spanish and French visiting, most of whom have travelled by car.
The hospitality sector has opened for business in the town, although cafés and restaurants are obliged to close around midnight, whereas before they could set their own closing times. In addition, the 1.5-metre distancing rule must be adhered to, the menus are disposable, and there is extra cleaning; basically, the works. However, clubs are deciding not to open due to the early closing times. “Giving the nightlife and clubbing a boost is hard, because they are enclosed spaces,” says Jong.
Peter-paul van Goidsenhoven owns a number of apartments for rent, including some in the centre of Sitges. In March, there were a significant number of cancellations, but by August they were back to full capacity. “I totally get that tourists are avoiding air travel: the rules concerning air travel are apt to change daily, which is very risky,” he says.
However, plenty of LGBTQ travellers aren’t letting coronavirus spoil their fun. “Gays don’t care about the coronavirus, it seems,” says van Goidsenhoven. “In the gay nightlife areas, tables are just pushed together, and nobody is wearing a face mask… You see similar behaviour on the beaches: men are often lying close together, without sticking to the 1.5-metre rule at all. And setting up a hookup via Grindr is still incredibly popular. The urge for sex is stronger than the fear of COVID-19, it appears. Figures are also showing that the number of people infected in Sitges in August has risen again, which is not surprising, really.”
Jong adds: “You’re seeing hoteliers, for the rest of the season — which ends around mid-October here; November and December are too cold — offering incentives or package deals, as well as discounts, aimed at Spanish holidaymakers, not those who have to consider quarantine measures.”
Gran Canaria
French queer travel website Gay Séjour has more than a thousand gay-owned guest houses on its books, of which some 700 are located in France, while the other 300 are spread over the rest of the world, including ten or so in Gran
Canaria. A number of these are in the centre of Playa del Ingles, close to the gay nightlife hub, Yumbo Centre, and a few are situated just outside the city, in the countryside.
Frédéric Dumont, an affiliate of Gay
Séjour, says: “It’s quite unusual, but in the past few years, the small city apartments
“Some men are looking to get the most out of their ten-day holiday, and don’t want to be told to go to bed at 1am”
close to Yumbo Centre were always rented out much more quickly than those outside of the city – that’s all changed this year.
There is more demand for larger apartments offering additional comfort. That’s because those guests who were spending most of their time at outdoor cafés in the city are now looking to spend more time in the refuge of an apartment, out of fear of the coronavirus. Also, accommodation on the outskirts of the city or much further afield is now becoming more appealing.”
Together with his French partner, Andreas Dacke runs Finca Montechristo, which is located in the middle of botanical gardens about eight kilometres from Playa del Ingles. He sounds an optimistic note. “For us, the peak season has yet to start, from October onwards. Our guests at Finca Montechristo are from Switzerland, Scandinavia, and also the Netherlands. I must say that we haven’t noticed much coronavirus anxiety; our bookings are just as frequent as they’ve been in previous years. We might be subjected to a lot of last-minute cancellations, but I’m not expecting that to happen.”
CRUISES
June was meant to herald the tenth anniversary edition of The Cruise by La Demence in the Adriatic Sea, but in March, everything had to be shut down. It was a bitter pill for the cruise’s organiser Thierry Coppens, with more than 3,000 passengers of 80 or so nationalities having registered.
Cruise ships everywhere are no longer setting sail. There are a few experimental itineraries offering classic jaunts around
Italy or Greece, but little else. There is a cruise where you embark at Hamburg, and cruise at sea for three days without docking anywhere, and then it’s back to the home port of Hamburg again. There are restrictions galore during these journeys: passenger capacity cannot exceed 70 per cent, buffets are prohibited, and then there’s social distancing of course.
“That’s unfeasible for us, basically,” says Coppens. “Face masks in the play areas? Maintaining a distance of 1.5 metres? That’s not what our guests come on board for – or pay that kind of money to experience, for that matter. Our existence therefore depends on the arrival of a vaccine. Once that has materialised, we will reintroduce the existing formula, as the mix we offer has been a proven success over the past ten years.”
His customers have been refunded over the past few months. “We are lucky we had a contract with Royal Caribbean this season, who are a US cruise company, because before that, we worked with Pullman Tours, but they are now out of business.”
Coppens admires some of the initiatives that have been birthed out of necessity by other hospitality entrepreneurs in the face of COVID-19: “Take the Plein Air by Fuse club in Brussels, for instance: you are able to book a table outdoors, there are drinks, food is served there, and there are DJs playing. And all the while, the coronavirus protocol is being totally complied with.”
FRANCE Roujan
Roujan in the south of France is the location of Cinq & Sept, a luxurious gay guest house which offers nine suites in its historical building. Owners Greg Tayler and his partner Alex were dealt quite a blow when all their reservations were cancelled in
March. “Of course it was understandable, but the months leading up to June have been lost, basically. On the other hand, we were fully booked during July and August, with guests from northern Europe, such as Belgians, Dutch, Germans, English and Swiss. The atmosphere is just great, as people are incredibly glad to be in different surroundings for a bit after the lockdown, and there are a great many outdoor activities being organised: from barbecues around the swimming pool, to wine-tasting, kayaking and the Saturday Pool Party.”
Greg has been hearing similar stories from fellow hoteliers. “This is an unprecedented situation for everyone, so we’re all exploring our options, to see what is possible, and what is safe. It’s a very uncertain time right now, which is being enhanced by the fact that some countries are tightening restrictions once again.”
From that point of view, as well as to attempt to make up for the lost months, Greg and
Alex are busy this autumn creating an option to allow guests to stay for a longer period of time at an amended rate. “It’s so that people can spend the entire period of a possible new lockdown here, because you don’t want to be stuck in a tiny apartment for months by yourself. It was our guests who gave us this idea, so there is definitely a demand for it.”
Marseille
This destination doesn’t feature very often in the list of favourite gay destinations, but in corona times, it’s all change, and the same applies to travel.
Dumont says: “This destination was suddenly incredibly popular with French gay men, and those who normally travel to Spain or Morocco. The reason for that is that it’s about a six-hour drive from Paris – so it’s quite accessible – and there is a beach as well. The regions of Auvergne and the Ardèche also experienced an upswing.”
One striking aspect is that smaller hotels and guest houses were more popular than the larger ones. “Tourists do still view them as being a safer option.” It is also a reason for people to remain in one spot for longer instead of switching locations again after two days. It was a fairly disastrous season for typical city trip destinations,” says Dumont.
“It wasn’t just the fact that everything had completely closed up until June, but the Germans and Brits just didn’t show up at all. It was a tough time for businesses, especially those who had just started up, and weren’t able to get support from the bank. Also, businesses whose foundations were already shaky crashed and burned horribly.”
GREECE
In Greece, the number of infections is the highest in Athens and on the mainland, while the islands are benefiting from their geographical separation. “The islands have the advantage of being able to check how many tourists are coming in because they arrive by airplanes and ferries, which means there is no uncontrolled influx,” says Jong. “The Greek authorities are strict, too: Americans, for instance, are not allowed in at the moment.”
Mykonos
Egidio owns an Italian gay restaurant on Mykonos. None of the bars or restaurants has gone bust due to the decline, but there are a number of hotels and restaurants that simply didn’t open. “In August, we were at 50 per cent of the normal number of tourists for the month – slightly more than we’d expected,” he says. “The tourist season started off rather hesitantly, so we’re quite pleased — or rather, satisfied — with the increase. It takes a lot of juggling. We are working with a lot less employees, for instance, than in previous years, but you want to be there for the tourists that do come. And you’re also looking to show that you’re still around.”
The anti-COVID measures have become increasingly strict over the course of the season. The closing times of bars and restaurants have been brought forward to midnight, for instance, which has resulted in multiple illegal parties — attended by as many as 300 people — being held in private villas, and booze and drugs are never in short supply. Egidio adds: “Of course, it’s against the rules, but some men are looking to get the most out of their ten-day holiday, and don’t want to be told to go to bed at 1am. They’ll take their chances as to whether or not they’ll catch the virus. It’s not the smart thing to do, but it’s also human nature to want to get everything out of it that you can.”
For Egidio, the season will finish earlier than usual this year. Normally, the restaurant is open until the first week of October, but when only 30 per cent of the regular numbers of tourists are coming in September, that is not enough to make it work financially. “Where will we be in a year? That’s impossible to say; I don’t really dare to think about it, it all depends whether or not a vaccine is created, which the whole world is waiting for, of course.”