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This paper aims to offer a critical review of the existing research on the relationships between tourism and male homosexual identities and, based on a sociocultural perspective, suggestions for specific directions in future research.

The analysis is based on a review of the literature that focuses on two independent yet intersecting topics: tourism and homosexuality and identity formation processes.

Specific directions for future research are offered regarding the role that tourism plays in homosexual identity development. The proposed paths for future research include the tangible contributions of tourism to the stages of homosexual tourists’ identity development and the (re)construction, negotiation and globalisation of homosexual and queer identities through tourists’ cultural interactions. Two further suggested directions are the significance of tourism for non-Western homosexual tourists and tourism’s impacts on local homosexual identities.

This study is based solely on the existing literature on male homosexuality and mostly on studies published in English.

The research included a critical analysis of the commonly assumed significance of tourism in homosexual identity formation. The results provide directions for future empirical research and calls for a solid theoretical foundation that allows researchers to demonstrate, understand and explain how tourism contributes to gay and queer identities.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the factors that led to Cape Town’s gay village to transform from a “gaytrified” tourism mecca to a “heterosexualised” urban space, from a gay leisure space owner perspective.

Empirical observations of the six remaining gay leisure space owners in De Waterkant (population) are taken into account by using semi-structured interviews. All narratives are analysed in Altas.ti – qualitative data analysis software – to identify applicable factors, which participants believe are contributing to the “de-gaying” of Cape Town’s gay village.

From the conducted analyses, it becomes apparent that Western theorisation of the “de-gaying” of gay villages is not universally applicable as certain factors contributing to De Waterkant’s demise appear to be location-specific, suggesting that Western theory is insufficient to explain gay spatial realities in non-Western contexts such as South Africa. The identified factors responsible for the “de-gaying” of De Waterkant adversely affect Cape Town’s status as a gay capital and its ability to market this gay neighbourhood to attract the gay tourism market. This may result in lost socio-economic opportunities considering the financial contribution of gay travellers to the local tourist economy.

This study is the first of its kind to use first-hand narratives of the six remaining gay business owners in De Waterkant and marks the first attempt to investigate the factors, from a non-Western perspective, which led to the “de-gaying” of Africa’s only gay village. Taking into account the socio-economic value added by gay tourism, the findings provide the first non-Western perspective on the demise of Africa’s and South Africa’s only gay neighbourhood from a gay leisure space owner perspective, including the possible repercussions on Cape Town’s local tourist economy. Some tactical considerations and recommendations are suggested to ensure the continuation of gay tourism in the city.

To know the role of online social media (OSM) on the experience and communication of a gay film festival (ZeFestival) in a tourist destination: Nice, France

Literature review accompanied with a qualitative study and netnographic analysis.

Informs on the use of OSMs by both organizers and festival goers, with a much poorer involvement of stakeholders than was envisaged. Proposes avenues for finding the causes of this lack of communication and sharing of the online experience.

An exploratory study of a single gay film festival. The research work should be extended to other gay cultural events in Nice and France as a whole.

Recommendations for online experience sharing and communication before, during, and after the event.

This theme has been hardly broached on an international scale and never in a French context.

The Italian sociological scientific community has shown a limited interest in issues related to bisexuality. The purpose of this paper is to fill the knowledge gap on the subject, showing data of an empirical research conducted online on the Italian bisexual community.

The article is based on a mixed methods online survey on Italian bisexual people, which included 218 interviews. The questionnaire was made up of closed and open-ended questions, to investigate their behaviours, habits and lifestyles.

Social pressure and lack of understanding by others sometimes make difficult for bisexual people to show themselves openly for what they are, especially in some contexts, such as the word of work. From a sociological point of view, one can argue that one of the tools when bisexual people face the stigma related to bisexuality is to control, often in an obsessive way, the information they provide about themselves, carefully evaluating the contexts in which they can free themselves and the time when they must expose themselves in line with the expectations of the heteronormative society.

The non-probabilistic sample limits the external validity of the findings. There are also critical elements that characterise social research when transposed online: first, the profiles of the respondents not always are verifiable; second, the digital divide excludes some groups that cannot access the web or involves an over-representation of those who are more familiar with technologies.

The work presented is the first Italian sociological study aimed at deepening the “invisible B” phenomenon of the LGBT acronym in a systematic way. Nowadays bisexuality remains under-researched in social sciences and overall in sociology. Putting “bisexuality” at the centre of the sociological attention appears important to provide serious and scientifically valid data and information useful both to develop the knowledge on this identity category and to contain forms of discrimination and prejudice.

The progressive limits to rights mobilization have become starkly apparent in the past two decades. No new suspect classes have been forthcoming from the Supreme Court since 1977 despite continued demands for legal recognition by lesbians and gays, indigenous peoples and others interested in expanding civil rights doctrine. Public tolerance for civil rights measures has likewise dried up. Since the 1960s, referenda on civil rights have halted affirmative action programs, limited school busing and housing discrimination protections, promoted English-only laws, limited AIDS policies, and ended the judicial recognition of same-sex marriage, among other issues. Nearly 80% of these referenda have had outcomes realizing the Madisonian fear of “majority tyranny”¹ and signaling the Nietzschean dread of a politics of resentment (Brown, 1995, p. 214; Connolly, 1991, p. 64).

Japan has made some progress in recognizing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights, such as passing laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in some cities. However, there is still a long way to go in terms of legal protection and social acceptance. Understanding citizens' attitudes toward homosexuality can help inform policies and interventions that promote LGBTQ rights and reduce discrimination. This study explores factors that influence citizens' attitudes toward homosexuality in Japan.

The research was conducted through a web-based questionnaire with 1,806 participants, where they were asked about their views on same-sex partnership recognition, homosexual rights and traditional Japanese family systems. The collected data were statistically analyzed to determine the factors that affect individuals' opinions regarding homosexuality.

The study determined that in Japan, traditional views are inversely related to same-sex partnership registration. Conversely, local government support for LGBTQ+ rights is directly associated with societal acceptance. Additionally, closer contact with the LGBTQ+ community promotes acceptance.

The study provides insights into the factors that shape societal attitudes toward homosexuality in Japan and highlights the importance of policies promoting diversity and inclusivity. By identifying these determinants, this study could help policymakers and advocates create effective strategies for promoting acceptance and equality for the LGBTQ+ community in Japan.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that focuses on understanding the factors that influence the attitudes of Japanese citizens toward homosexuality.

Observing visitors' behaviour in places presenting heritage and reviewing the tourism literature dealing with ‘heritage’ tourism led to this research that is aimed at clarifying the core of heritage tourism. The common approach that heritage tourism consists of tourists in heritage places, is challenged. The relationship between four groups of variables (the tourists' personal characteristics, the tourists' awareness of the history of the site, the tourists' perception of a site in relation to their own heritage and, the site attributes) and the tourists' visitation patterns (before a visit, during a visit, and after a visit) as the outcome variables was investigated. The actual study was conducted in Israel because of its attributes as a space containing a variety of heritage sites in a relatively small area, which relate to different tourists on different grounds. The research looked in detail at two sites: the Wailing Wall and Massada. The results (specifically the tourists' perception of the sites) indicate that the relationship between the tourists and the heritage site attributes is at the core of the phenomenon of heritage tourism. The understanding of this relationship has value for the study of heritage‐related behaviour including heritage tourism. The study suggests a new approach to understanding heritage tourism which could be applicable for other subgroups of tourism, and could have implications for the management of heritage and historic sites.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of diversity management research published in hospitality and tourism-specific and business discipline-based journals. The study objectives include attempting to assess the progress of diversity management research in hospitality and tourism, identifying gaps between the general business diversity management literature and the hospitality and tourism literature and providing hospitality and tourism scholars with suggestions to advance knowledge in diversity management.

The study is a critical review of the existing diversity management literature in the general business and hospitality and tourism disciplines in an attempt to identify gaps and make suggestions for expanding this knowledge in the hospitality and tourism fields.

There are significant gaps between the diversity management scholarship conducted in hospitality and tourism disciplines and the general business field. Diversity management research in general business is far more in-depth and uses sociological and social psychological theoretical frameworks.

There are lessons to be learned from the general business literature that uses strong theoretical foundations deeply grounded in sociological, psychological, social-psychological and management theories. The general management literature also explores the conditions under which diversity management adds value or creates challenges for organizations.

The hospitality and tourism industry has employed large numbers of ethnic minorities, women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for decades. As such, it is critical that scholars explore the implications of such a diverse workforce not only on organizational outcomes, but also on individual and group performance. The general business diversity management research suggests that workgroup composition can influence individual and group performance, as well as the quality of co-worker relationships. Given the team-oriented, interdependent nature of work in the hospitality and tourism industry, it is imperative that researchers conduct studies that help practitioners understand the most effective perspectives and approaches to diversity management.

The critical literature review demonstrated that there is extremely scarce research on diversity management focusing on employees with disabilities. It is imperative to shed more light on best diversity management practices, workplace etiquette of this under-represented group of employees and their interaction with their co-workers.

This study’s results provide insight into areas of exploration that can significantly enhance the scholarship on diversity management in the hospitality and tourism literature.

This study attempts to identify and explicate the unique segmentation of the increasingly growing virtual reality (VR) user market based on the user experience. Consequently, it collects five hundred forty-five online survey questionnaires through the Prolific platform and deploys cluster analysis to identify mutually exclusive groups of VR users. The research variable, user experience, contains 16 indicators explained by four dimensions. As a result, this study is able to unveil three mutually exclusive markets which are labeled as (1) beginner, (2) aficionado, and (3) utilitarian. The unique features of these three groups are further compared based on their VR tour behaviors. In the conclusion section, it offers managerial implications for devising novel marketing strategies.

A number of postmodern consumer scholars have their attention on the consumption behaviour of neo-tribes. Changing gender roles and households’ consumption practices have also shaped new sets of cultural manifestations for the clothing consumption milieu. The purpose of this paper is to explore the clothing consumption culture of a neo-tribe, gay professionals within the subculture of gay consumers.

An extended conceptual framework built upon Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) theory of “reasoned action” served as the conceptual guideline for this study. Specifically, the attitude-behaviour framework is proposed and employed to better understand the clothing consumption behaviour of a neo-tribe consisting of gay professionals. Personal in-depth interviews were conducted in a metropolitan city as well as two small towns in Canada.

Stereotypical as well as non-stereotypical understandings are offered. The findings from this study portrayed the gay professions of this neo-tribe as rational and practical. Personal psychological factors, social factors and marketplace factors relevant to a neo-tribe of gay professionals are documented and deeper insights are presented.

Findings challenge the existing understanding of fashion manifestation for this consumers group. However, this study may be of limited scope. Future studies should further examine the clothing consumption cultural manifestations of other neo-tribes within the gay community.

The interviewees consistently demonstrated their positive attitudes towards quality, stylish and conservative clothing. For marketers it is crucial to perceive the gay community as a non-homogeneous market segment. There is a need to understand different consumption practices within this community and to tailor marketing mix elements accordingly.

This study has extended the understanding of the neo-tribes of gay consumers. In addition, this study offers the clothing consumption reality of a neo-tribe encompassing gay professionals. This study illuminates their rational and practical clothing consumption cultural manifestations and clothing consumption behaviour. These insights further enrich the general understandings that exist in the area of consumer research.