Meg Ten Eyck was working in the world of LGBTQ lobbying and activism with organizations like HRC, GLSEN, and Trevor Project. She was passionate about her work and advocating for the LGBTQ community, but she was burning out. When she took a new job in South Korea, she had no idea that it would lead to founding a travel company where she could follow her passion while still taking care of herself.
While in South Korea, Ten Eyck started a travel diary catering to queer women.
“[A]t the time, there was no information [about traveling] for queer women online,” Eyck told Georgia Voice. “In fact, there was only one lesbian travel blogger, and she had happened to be gay but she didn’t really write about LGBTQ issues. Because of my background in policy and LGBTQ advocacy, I was uniquely positioned to answer a lot of questions that were being asked. So, my site was quickly indexed by Google, and I started getting messages saying, ‘My partner and I are traveling to insert destination here. What are your thoughts?’ And if it had been a place that I had visited, I would respond [with] these really lengthy emails. I kind of realized after getting like three or four [on] the same destination that I should be publishing these.”
From there, Ten Eyck was offered the opportunity for a now-defunct LGBTQ publication based in Europe to cover all European Pride events, and what started as a travel diary over the course of a decade grew into EveryQueer.
EveryQueer is a travel media company teaching queer travelers how to safely see the world. They publish detailed travel content, consult destinations around the world on LGBTQ travel and tourism — from marketing and professional development training to helping them use local queer resources and entrepreneurs — and now offer worldwide tours specifically catering to queer women, trans, and nonbinary people.
While hearing “LGBTQ travel” might bring some destinations automatically to mind, Ten Eyck and EveryQueer specialize in travel to anti-LGBTQ destinations to expand the horizons LGBTQ people are able to reach.
“I’ve been to probably ten different countries now where it’s illegal to be queer, and I was traveling with very queer-presenting, gender nonconforming partners and friends,” Ten Eyck said. “A lot of people will see that content, and they’re just blown away by it. They’re like, ‘Wow, I want to be that brave, I want to do that,’ without really realizing that there are ways to be able to go on those adventures without being at risk. It’s more about a perception of fear than the reality of danger, but there is definitely a learning curve. There are steps that you can take in order to travel safely and going to more adventurous travel destinations in a welcoming and affirming way.”
All of their tours are designed with LGBTQ travelers in mind, both in inclusion — providing tailored experiences like gender-neutral bathrooms, gender-neutral hotel rooms, and other necessary accommodations — and in actual programming. Every tour includes LGBTQ-specific events, parties, history, and/or guides, all curated to the specific destination.
This summer, EveryQueer is partnering with R Family Vacations and Olivia Cruises for an LGBTQ family cruise taking off from Orlando and sailing to the Bahamas, Mexico, and Honduras from July 16 through 23.
“I remember one woman had said that [an LGBTQ family cruise was] the first opportunity as a child that she had ever had where every family was like hers,” Ten Eyck said. “And I think there’s just like something really beautiful and important about that.”
Later this summer, a group will travel to Playa del Carmen in Mexico for a short and sweet gay Cancun trip from August 24 through 28. Travelers will enjoy watersports, the jungles of Yucatan, the ruins of Tulum, two luxury three-course dinner parties (with a top-shelf open bar), LGBTQ nightlife, and five-star accommodations.
Later this year, EveryQueer will travel to Argentina to ride a float in a Pride parade and soak up the vast LGBTQ nightlife (including Fiesta Rose Girls, the world’s largest monthly lesbian party, bringing in 2,500 to 3,000 guests) and Thailand to take part in the Chiang Mai Lantern Festival and enjoy a Ladyboy cabaret. Early next year, they will travel to Egypt (where it is illegal to be gay) on a river cruise.
EveryQueer offers not only safety and inclusion to the LGBTQ community, but also the expansion and growth that come with adventure and cultural exchange.
“I think travel opens people’s minds, and I think people deserve to see that,” Ten Eyck said. “We shouldn’t only be limited to the places that have marriage equality. I don’t think it should be just limited to places that are traditional LGBT destinations. Like don’t get me wrong, Ibiza is incredible, right? But what else is there? What are those trips that like change who you are as a person? I want to be able to cultivate those experiences while uplifting our community. It’s kind of redundant at this point to say how many queer women’s spaces are closing, how many bars are shutting down, and how many parties are ending. If I can provide those opportunities for women to bond together, connect to build community, and be able to expand their horizons by seeing the world like that, there’s nothing more rewarding.”
There are still spots available on all of EveryQueer’s upcoming tours. To learn more and book, visit everyqueer.com/tours-events.