In its nearly 30 years of operating, Chicago-based Toto Tours, winner of GayTravel.com’s 2017 “Best LGBT Tour Operator” award, has mostly flown under the radar.
Aside from a minor public protest from a pastor back in the 90s over a gay family-friendly trip planned to northern Michigan, Toto Tours President Dan Ware has not had much opposition to his small-group tours, which whisk curious gay travelers to must-see sites around the globe to deepen their historical knowledge and encourage cultural enrichment and exchange.
But that all changed on May 25, when a Toto Tours social media post promoting an upcoming tour of Ethiopian religious and cultural sites fell into the hands of an Ethiopian blogger, who posted a statement condemning the company. Ware said after that post went viral, he was inundated with death threats and messages of hate and violence from Ethiopians.
Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Ethiopia and punishable by up to 15 years in prison. A 2007 survey from the Pew Global Attitudes Project found that 97% of Ethiopian residents believe that homosexuality has no place in society.
“They have given me a very colorful list of ways I’ll die, from being stoned to being beheaded,” Ware told GayTravel.com. “Burned alive, buried alive, shot. I have an ISIS-type video with a guy with a hood brandishing a sword and calling me out by name.”
Ware said the uproar has even caught the attention of right-wing YouTubers located here in the United States, who jumped on the bandwagon with their own death threats.
Galvanized by the social media backlash, several religious, government, and civic organizations and offices in Ethiopia chimed in to voice their disapproval with allowing gay tour participants into the country, calling on the government to ban the tour. That group included Slest Me’et, a coalition of Ethiopian Orthodox church associations, Takele Uma Banti, the acting deputy mayor of Addis Ababa, and the Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau.
Ware said neither the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism nor a representative from the government has given an official statement on whether Toto Tours will be banned from entering the country or visiting the sites.
A YouTube video titled “Ethiopian Ministry of Tourism responds to TOTO Tour Church visit questions” was posted to the EthioInfo channel on June 6, but a translator said the organization stopped short of expressing outright whether Toto Tours would be banned.
With his company now thrust firmly in the spotlight, Ware would like to make it clear that his tour never intended to offend or cause harm, and that Toto Tours always brings donations to the places it visits or sends them afterward.
“It’s not like we just go and take,” he said. “We give, give, give.”
But most Ethiopians in opposition to his tour are under the wrong impression altogether, he said.
“They believe that we’re there as sex tourists, that we’re there to corrupt their youth, or that we plan to do gay flag waving and demonstrations in favor of the gay community of Ethiopia, or even that we’ll desecrate their holy sites,” Ware said, insisting that his tours always respect the destination’s culture and traditions.
He finds it ironic that Leo Varadkar, the openly gay prime minister of Ireland, was welcomed to Ethiopia’s Lalibela rock churches back in January without incident. In fact, Varadkar was greeted with a ceremony from hundreds of Orthodox priests in elaborate garb.
“We’re sorry we’ve caused such inflammation of rioting and protesting and anger in Ethiopia. We love the people of Ethiopia. We meant no harm, we would do no harm, and we will do no harm if and when we come,” he said.
As for the 16-day tour originally planned for departure on October 25, Ware said it’s all hanging in the balance. Before he decides whether to move forward, he’d like to get a statement on record from a government entity or the country’s tourism bureau but is not sure one is forthcoming.
As for future tours to Ethiopia, Ware said he’s considering operating them in complete secrecy, though he noted his company has visited other anti-gay countries in the past with no problems.
Ware said despite the backlash, the experience has not diminished his love for travel or his belief in the goodness of mankind.
“We always have a wonderful reception wherever we go, even if it’s a place that’s reported to be anti-gay,” he said. “We’re going to carry on our mission.”
Visit tototours.com to learn more about the company and upcoming tours.
