Latest Booking.com Research Reveals Majority of LGBTQ+ Travelers Conceal Their Identity When Traveling

Booking.com’s Travel Proud Research Report 2026 offers one of the most comprehensive looks yet at the realities of LGBTQ+ travel worldwide.

Key Findings
- Trade-offs for Safety: Only 31% of LGBTQ+ travelers are out when traveling, compared to 68% out to close friends. Many conceal identity to avoid negative experiences, with 40% willing to hide who they are to visit bucket-list destinations.
- Precautions Rising: 44% take more precautions than before — sharing live locations, deleting dating apps before border crossings, using VPNs, or even carrying burner phones.
- Trans Travelers’ Challenges: Anxiety is highest among trans travelers, with 43% reporting increased anxiety in recent years. Their top trigger is using gendered facilities, unlike other groups where being out late at night is the biggest concern.
- Positive Experiences: Encouragingly, 82% reported positive experiences in the past year — from staff using correct pronouns to inclusive signs like pride flags or gender-neutral bathrooms.

Role of AI & Digital Tools
- AI Planning: 66% used AI to plan trips last year.
- Trust Factor: 43% trust AI for objective, non-judgmental advice; 39% say it helps find niche LGBTQ+ friendly spots.
- Safety in Asking: 37% feel safer asking AI about sensitive local LGBTQ+ scenes than asking humans.
- Desired Features: 30% want an “LGBTQ+ friendly” filter when booking online.

Travel Proud Program
- Launched in 2021, now embraced by 142,000+ properties in over 20,000 destinations.
- Training available in 11 languages, helping travelers filter for LGBTQ+ friendly stays via the rainbow suitcase badge.
- As Matthias Schmid (SVP, Accommodations) notes, the program empowers travelers to “Travel Proud” — prioritizing trips where they can be 100% themselves.

This report underscores both the progress and persistent challenges in LGBTQ+ travel. It also highlights how digital innovation — especially AI — is becoming a double-edged tool: used for both precautionary safety and for discovering inclusive spaces.