Most of the time when we talk about travel, we picture vacationsโlisticles of โ36 hours in Paris,โ TikTok reels of dreamy beaches, weekend getaways.ย But thereโs a whole other side of travel that rarely gets attention: business events and conferences. And itโsย worth $1.57 trillionย globally. Which is why it’s so important that conference organizers make valued-aligned choices, like hosting in LGBTQ friendly cities.
Behind every conference badge and banquet hall is a flood of money that can either rewardโor withhold fromโcities and states depending on how they treat their most vulnerable communities.
How One Organization Stood Up to Anti-LGBTQ Laws
Mainstream media (and let’s be honest, a lot of players in LGBTQ+ spaces too) like to hand wring in op-eds about the lack of support for LGBTQ+ rights โ and in news pieces summarizing the loss of of tangible rights for queer and trans youth and adults, or amplifying the current legal attempts to walk back Obergefell and restore marriage to a two-tiered solution of blue-state haves and red-state have-nots. Time will tell what the Supremes (and not just Clarence Thomas) have to say on Obergefell…
But while the media circus grinds us down and makes us hopeless, one academic organization stood on its values by offering a carrot-or-stick approach to host cities for its upcoming conference.
The International Studies Association is a member organization with 7,000 scholars and academics across 80 countries. It hosts a dozen events each year. And last week, the association put the state of Ohio on notice about its annual conference, which is scheduled to take place in Columbus.
While the International Studies Association is committed to Columbus for their 2026 event, they let Ohio’s governor know they will no longer consider hosting any new conventions in Cleveland due to Ohio’s stance on trans rights and its cooperating with the roving masked gangs of ICE agents.
In a letter to Ohio’s governor, ISA’s leadership reiterated their hope for a successful event in Columbus and asked the governor to do everything in his power to make sure conference participants can enjoy their trip “whatever region of the world they are from and without regard to their sexuality or gender identity.”
Destination Cleveland, the tourism authority for Cleveland, was, predictably “disappointed” by their decision. Its president and CEO, David Gilbert, called out the ripple effect state and local laws have on the tourism industry.
The meetings and conventions industry brings “hundreds of millions of dollars” to the city and state every year, according to Gilbert, and Destination Cleveland doesn’t want to lose out on the cash money.
Cleveland is still a welcoming and inclusive city, and they’re being punished for being in a state with bad laws, is the TLDR of his message.
More here, for the curious.
Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, has no comment. A spokesperson for his office claimed the ISA wasn’t specific enough in their letter, so they couldn’t possibly provide a substantive comment on their claims.
It’s pretty clear to me! The ISA’s policy prevents them from hosting events in cities where their members legal rights could be restricted based on their identity.
Whether it’s nationality, skin color, sexual orientation or even the presumption of these things (because apparently it’s ok now to pull people over in LA for the color of their skin and check their papers).
In 2024, Ohio passed a ban on gender affirming care for minors (even when parents have consented) and another ban on trans women’s participation in high school and college sports.
For what it’s worth, Governor DeWine originally vetoed that legislation, which lawmakers passed on an override.
And he has blocked other harmful laws, preserving state funding for homeless shelters that accept LGBTQ+ youth and protecting library access to queer books.
But he also signed Ohio’s most recent budget, which includes an official state policy of only recognizing two assigned-at-birth, never-can-be-changed-ever-ever sexes.
Ohio’s General Assembly is currently considering legislation on whether/how much local law enforcement should collaborate with ICE, because โ carrot or stick again โ the state will lose federal funding if they refuse to help the masked goons.
Ohio’s in a tough spot, and I sympathize with that.
The governor seems to be doing what he can to shield Ohio’s LGBTQ+ population. On a scale of best to worst states to be LGBTQ+, the state falls somewhere in the middle.
Movement Advancement Project gives them an equality score of 1.25/49 โ low, but not negative.
For comparison’s sake, Hawaii’s score is 31.25 (solidly medium) and New York gets a 44.5 (highest category).
But what I want to celebrate is the ISA standing on its values, and putting the state on notice as to exactly why.
Because the mainstream media is wrong.
We don’t need to grit our teeth and bear the bigotry and the assault on our rights and freedoms. And we definitely don’t need to reward states that restrict our rights and freedoms with hundreds of millions of dollars.
We can give that money to a more welcoming host city.
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