POINTS OF THE COMPASS
A recent survey found that 49 per cent of travellers feel social issues, such as human rights and working conditions, affect where they travel – with more than half (58 per cent) refusing to travel to a destination if they feel it will have a negative effect on the people who live there. Given that the Pride flag has always been a sign of welcoming, it’s fitting that Pflag Canada, a nonprofit organisation supporting Canada’s queer community, created a global website that turned the rainbow flag into a bar graph with each of the colours measuring one of six key metrics of acceptance. The website’s algorithms collect global data relating to marriage equality, sexual activity laws, gender-identity protection, anti-discrimination laws, civil rights and liberties, and social media sentiments. This snapshot provides for a possible total score of 100. Maybe not surprisingly, some places scored in the teens (Bali, Singapore) or even lower (Doha with 10) while Berlin and Madrid racked up 79 points and Sydney scored 75. Cardiff and Edinburgh both just outscore London with 70 to 69.