By Charlie Rounds, Editor, GayTravel.com
I met her 24 years ago, and talking to Lynne Hocking this week reminded me how much I admire her. Lynne Hocking played an important role in making the LGBT travel experience better. She pushed, she shoved, she smiled, she screamed, she sat stone-faced surrounded by armed guards. And most importantly, she never ever gave up. She has contributed so much to LGBT travel that it would be impossible to cover it all in just one article, so what I have tried to do is highlight her 26 years as an out lesbian champion. For me, it is not hard to see that Lynne has certainly "thundered down under"!
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In 1992 Lynne quit her first job at a travel company because the owner would not let her market to LGBT travelers. In his mind, “his USA corporate clients would not be happy.” She immediately found another company that would allow her to openly market to LGBT travelers, and Destination Down Under was born. The company was a partnership of ATS Pacific, a large South Pacific wholesaler based in Los Angeles, and Lynne Hocking. Destination Down Under welcomed 16 guests in 1993. Within 10 years that number would skyrocket to more than 2000.
Back in 1993 most LGBT travelers went to Australia for Mardi Gras, which started in 1978 as a protest march and ended in violence when the police violently arrested 53 men and women, many of whom were beaten in cells. Today, Mardi Gras hosts hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators. This year, for the 40th anniversary, the police officially apologized for their past behavior, and more than 100 police officers proudly marched in the parade led by the Chief Commander. And, of course, the Lord Mayoress, wearing a designer dog collar, joined the bears on their float.
Another sign of how the times have changed (we hope) is when Lynne stood on stage in Atlanta with the Reverend Troy Perry, the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBT-affirming Christian church. On stage, they were surrounded by bodyguards with rifles due to threats against the group. Lynne was there because she had convinced them to hold their first ever international convention in Sydney. The entire group was forced to take their badges off before leaving the hotel because of the potentially violent protesters waiting outside.
Lynne played a pivotal role in getting IGTA (International Gay Travel Association) to add the “L” for lesbian. Having lived through this ugly battle in the mid-1990s, I know how hard Lynne fought. In the end, her persistence paid off. The organization is now known as IGLTA. Lynne was the first Australian to serve on the IGLTA board. At the 1994 IGLTA Convention in Washington DC, Lynne helped organize Sydney’s “pitch” for hosting the 1996 convention. The competing city, Amsterdam, had offered an evening of rubber-clad comedians that was well received by the attendees. But that could not compare to all of us entering the Australian Embassy to be welcomed by the Ambassador and, oh yes, a group of men in minuscule swimsuits holding the Australian flag. That may not seem like much today, but 24 years ago it was a big deal, and one that I will never forget.
When I asked Lynne about embarrassing moments she laughingly recalled the time she was hosting American travel agents in Australia. She was taking the group into Parliament, which required going through a metal detector, and one man kept setting it off. It was eventually discovered that he was wearing a metal band around his penis which needed to be removed before he could enter.
Please join me in toasting Lynne Hocking for all that she has done to help create a better travel experience for the LGBT community. While she did not do it alone, without her efforts we would not be where we are today.
