Gaytravel.com, the gay travel company that has been connecting the LGBT community with gay-friendly destinations for more than 15 years has said “goodbye” to Russia as a result of their new anti-gay laws and the upswing in homophobia in the country.
In a statement posted on their Web site Gaytravel.com wrote,
Due to the recent ban on homosexuality issued by the Russian government, GayTravel.com has officially dropped Russia from the gay-friendly destination listings on our website. We have fully refunded all of our advertisers from Russia until further notice to directly address and discourage the severity of the homophobia encouraged by the Russian government.
We have removed both of our previously listed Russian cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, in response to the lack of support for the LBGT community and LBGT travelers there. GayTravel.com hopes to one day again partner with Russian businesses and travel efforts in ordinace with the safety of the LGBT travel community, but at this time cannot encourage travel to these destinations.
However, Gaytravel.com said the action does not mean they are abandoning the LGBT community in Russia and pledged to continue to “support the Russian LGBT community in their fight for freedom in any way possible.”
