reader Posted February 2, 2023 Posted February 2, 2023 From Coconuts Bangkok Bangkok’s Lumphini Park will be the starting point for this year’s annual pride in Bangkok as City Hall steps up its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. For the first time since 2006, the public park will host Bangkok Pride when it kicks off at 4pm on June 4 before heading down Ratchadamri Road and ending at CentralwOrld shopping mall. The route is 1.5 kilometers long and about 30,000 participants are anticipated to join the march. Last year’s pride events were the first held in the capital after a 12-year hiatus, and this is the first to be held since an elected governor returned to power. City Hall’s embrace of the event by providing a public venue delivers on Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt’s campaign promises to better serve LGBT+ Bangkok. City Hall has gone so far as to vow that Bangkok will become a “rainbow city” that does not only tolerate people of gender diversity, but accepts and embraces them. “This will not be just a one-off event, but something that will strengthen social dialogue for Bangkok to become a more inclusive city,” said deputy governor Sanon Wangsrangboon at the press conference. The theme, “Beyond…Gender,” is to highlight people whose identities belong outside the gender binary, according to Chumaporn “Waaddao” Taengkliang, an LGBTQ+ activist, feminist, and one of the march’s organizers. It also aims to raise awareness about social issues including marriage equality, decriminalization of sex work, educational inequality, ethnic discrimination, and more. A highlight of the event will be a rainbow flag, 144.8 meters in length, that will be laid along the route. That number is meant to signify Section 1448 of Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code, which allows only couples consisting of a man and a woman to register their marriages. LGBTQ+ people and their supporters have been fighting for Section 1448 to be revised so that the terms “male” and “female” are replaced with “person” instead. People living outside of Bangkok won’t be left out as another 18 provinces throughout Thailand will hold pride parades in June. Among those cities are Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket, Khon Kaen, Songkhla, and Ubon Ratchathani. Last year, the Bangkok Naruemit Pride was held June 5 in Bangkok’s Silom area, marking the city’s first pride parade since 2006. Prior to that, “Pride in the Park” events were a regular feature during Pride Month. Newly elected, Chadchart joined last year’s parade and announced that Pride Month would be made one of Bangkok’s 12 official monthly festivals. ============================= From The Nation How resorts and hotels can tap into potential of LGBTQIA+ travellers Operators of resorts and hotels should cater to the needs of LGBTQIA+ communities who are known to be big spenders and like to travel either with friends or alone, according to the results of a recent survey. The advice came from SCB Economic Intelligence Centre (SCB EIC), the research arm of Siam Commercial Bank. The EIC conducted a consumer survey from July 8 to 22 last year on the tastes of LGBTQIA+ communities when they want to take a vacation. Kamonmarn Jaenglom, a senior analyst of SCB EIC, said on Wednesday that the survey had uncovered several interesting aspects of LGBTQIA+ travellers that could help resort and hotel operators gain more worthy customers if they learn to adapt to this group’s travel lifestyle and demands. Among other things, LGBTQIA+ tourists love lifestyle, convenience and foods as well as special services that can be customised for them, according to the senior analyst. Kamonmarn said in his analysis that LGBTQIA+ travellers are “unique” and they have been adding new colour and diversity to the tourism business. The survey found that more than 30% of LGBTQIA+ respondents make more than five trips a year. Hence, paying attention to this group and understanding its needs could create new business opportunities for the tourism sector in the future, the research said. The study found that LGBTQIA+ tourists like to travel with friends or with their life partners. The survey found that 32% of communities prefer to travel with friends and 28% with spouses. They like to make short trips of two or three days at a time but they can travel frequently. =============================== I have to admit I had no idea what the "IA" meant in "LGBTQIA+". Here's the latest. WHAT IS LGBTQIA+? LGBTQIA+ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. See below for a more detailed definition of each term, from GLAAD’s LGBTQ Media Reference Guide. Quote
reader Posted February 3, 2023 Author Posted February 3, 2023 Gay pride events worldwide https://www.travelgay.com/gay-pride-calendar/ floridarob 1 Quote
