Gay pride

INDIA: Will India be the next big destination for gay tourists? Homosexuality has recently become legal in the country, and a range of businesses are now hoping to attract gay customers. 

In 2009 a Delhi High Court ruling decriminalized same-sex relationships. Now tour operators in particular are seeing potential in catering for both Indian and foreign gay travellers. Sanjay Malhotra is the owner of IndjaPink, India’s first travel agency for homosexual Indian men. Before he sends his clients on a trip, he makes sure that hotel staff, drivers and other service personnel are gay-friendly.

Although homosexuality is legal, says Malhotra, not everyone in Indian society is prepared to accept it. “The gay issue doesn’t come up as long as you maintain your straight face,” he told the International Herald Tribune. “But as soon as you show a bit of your gay side, you get a lot of unwanted attention.”

"As soon as you show a bit of your gay side, you get a lot of unwanted attention."

Not only the travel business is interested in gays as customers. A survey by Forbes India and Out Now Consulting shows that some four per cent of adults in India, or up to 30 million people, are gay, bisexual or transgender. A small but growing number of shops for homosexuals, as well as a magazine, Bombay Dost, are open for business.