Nestled along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, Manuel Antonio enchants with its lush rainforests, pristine beaches, abundant wildlife, and thrilling jungle adventures. The property is designed to sit between mainstream hotels and ultra-luxury resorts, while delivering curated programming, thoughtful design, community-focused amenities and genuine inclusion at price points that make quality gay travel accessible to more people.

Lounge by the expansive pool, savour diverse culinary delights at the onsite restaurant, and enjoy amenities like the swim-up bar, the Royal sauna, and luxurious jacuzzis. The dedicated team of Royal Boys will be available day and night, ensuring every moment feels personalized and carefree. When you are done with relaxing and being pampered poolside, you can experience the thrill of zip-lining through lush rainforests, explore hidden waterfalls on ATV adventures, or indulge in sunset sailing cruises. The property was carefully developed and designed based on extensive research of gay male travel statistics to ensure every fine detail is in place to make each guest’s stay memorable.

Some interesting facts of note include, the global LGBTQ+ travel market was valued at approximately $218 billion in 2021 and is projected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 15% through 2030. Gay and bisexual men also represent the highest-spending sub-segment within LGBTQ+ travel, with research consistently showing above-average trip frequency and per-trip spend compared to both heterosexual travellers and other LGBTQ+ sub-groups, Kania noted. Additionally, research shows that gay travellers also strongly prefer destinations and properties with visible, year-round LGBTQ+ inclusion. Properties perceived as engaging only during Pride events are consistently rated lower on trust and loyalty metrics. Word-of-mouth and community reviews are also the primary booking influence for gay male travellers, outranking traditional advertising and brand marketing.

Stanley Kania, Owner, Royal Grand Resorts stated, “The research is unambiguous: gay male travelers are among the most valuable, most loyal, and most underserved guests in hospitality. Royal Grand Resorts was built in direct response to that gap — to create welcoming, high-quality spaces where gay men feel genuinely centered, not just accommodated. Costa Rica exemplifies exactly the kind of destination we had in mind: safe, breathtakingly beautiful, deeply sustainable, and ready for a new generation of gay travelers discovering it.“

Reservations are now available via the website. The resort is beautifully secluded, yet it’s only a 30-minute flight from Quepos airport in San José, with private transfer options available. Book your flight today, and be among the first to discover this Costa Rican gem.

The brand’s vision is grounded in a growing body of independent research from Community Marketing & Insights (CMI), the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA), Out Now Global, MMGY Global, and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) — all pointing to a market that is large, loyal, underserved, and evolving rapidly. Read on to learn more about the trends that help spearhead the development of this unique property.

TREND #1 — MARKET SCALE: A $218 BILLION OPPORTUNITY
The global LGBTQ+ travel market is one of the most significant and consistently underpenetrated segments in hospitality:

• The global LGBTQ+ travel market was valued at approximately $218 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 15% through 2030.
  Source: Coherent Market Insights / UNWTO, 2022

• Gay and bisexual men represent the highest-spending sub-segment within LGBTQ+ travel, with research consistently showing above-average trip frequency and per-trip spend compared to both heterosexual travelers and other LGBTQ+ sub-groups.
  Source: Community Marketing & Insights (CMI), Annual LGBTQ+ Tourism & Hospitality Report, 2023

• LGBTQ+ travelers take more international trips per year on average than non-LGBTQ+ travelers in the same income bracket — a pattern that has held consistent across CMI’s annual research for over a decade.
  Source: CMI, 18th Annual LGBTQ+ Tourism & Hospitality Report, 2023

• The United States alone accounts for an estimated $100+ billion in LGBTQ+ travel spending annually, with gay men representing the largest share of that spend.
  Source: National LGBTQ Task Force / Out Now Global estimates, 2022–2023

TREND #2 — TRAVELER PREFERENCES: INCLUSION IS NON-NEGOTIABLE
Gay male travelers hold brands to a high and specific standard of authentic inclusion — and they make decisions accordingly:

• Over 80% of LGBTQ+ travelers say that a destination’s LGBTQ+-friendliness is a significant factor in their travel decisions.
  Source: IGLTA / UNWTO, LGBTQ+ Travel Research Report, 2021

• 72% of LGBTQ+ travelers research a destination’s legal protections and social climate before booking — a figure that rises among older and higher-income travelers.
  Source: CMI Annual LGBTQ+ Tourism & Hospitality Report, 2023

• Gay travelers strongly prefer destinations and properties with visible, year-round LGBTQ+ inclusion. Properties perceived as engaging only during Pride events are consistently rated lower on trust and loyalty metrics.
  Source: Out Now Global, LGBT2020 Research Programme

• Word-of-mouth and community reviews are the primary booking influence for gay male travelers, outranking traditional advertising and brand marketing.
  Source: CMI Annual Report, 2022–2023

TREND #3 — WELLNESS TRAVEL: A DEFINING PRIORITY
Wellness is among the fastest-growing categories in gay travel, driven by demand for experiences that support mental health, community connection, and holistic self-care:

• The global wellness tourism market was valued at $814 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2027. LGBTQ+ travelers are a disproportionately high-value segment within this market.
  Source: Global Wellness Institute, Global Wellness Economy Monitor, 2023

• Mental health and stress recovery consistently rank as top wellness motivators for gay male travelers — above physical fitness or beauty treatments — reflecting documented higher rates of minority stress within the gay male community.
  Source: CMI Annual LGBTQ+ Tourism Report; American Psychological Association minority stress research

• Gay-specific retreat programming — including wellness weeks, community connection retreats, and mindfulness experiences curated for gay men — is an underserved and rapidly growing niche within the broader wellness travel market.
  Source: IGLTA Market Intelligence, 2023; Out Now Global LGBT2020

• Access to LGBTQ+-affirming health services near or at properties is an emerging expectation among younger gay male travelers, particularly in markets with established LGBTQ+ health infrastructure.
  Source: IGLTA Foundation research notes, 2022–2023

TREND #4 — SUSTAINABILITY: VALUES-DRIVEN SPENDING
Gay male travelers over-index on sustainable and community-conscious travel behavior, connecting environmental values to broader principles of equity and social responsibility:

• LGBTQ+ travelers consistently over-index on sustainable travel behavior relative to the general travel population — including preference for eco-certified properties, locally owned businesses, and community-reinvestment-focused brands.
  Source: Out Now Global, LGBT2020 Research Programme; Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report, 2023

• 76% of global travelers intend to travel more sustainably, a figure that skews higher among LGBTQ+ respondents, who also report greater willingness to pay a premium for verified sustainable practices.
  Source: Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report, 2023

• Gay travelers place particular emphasis on brands that actively support local LGBTQ+ communities in destination markets — through employment, partnerships with LGBTQ+-owned businesses, and support for local advocacy organizations.
  Source: Out Now Global LGBT2020; CMI 2023 Annual Report

TREND #5 — DESTINATION INSIGHTS: ESTABLISHED FAVORITES, AND WHY COSTA RICA IS DIFFERENT
Destination selection among gay male travelers follows a clear hierarchy — led by legal safety and social visibility — while an exciting new tier of values-aligned destinations is gaining serious momentum:

• Legal protections for gay men are the single most cited factor in destination selection across all major LGBTQ+ travel surveys — consistently outranking price, climate, and cuisine.
  Source: IGLTA / UNWTO LGBTQ+ Travel Research Report, 2021; CMI Annual Report, 2023

• Top established gay travel destinations globally, based on booking volume and traveler surveys, include: Puerto Vallarta (Mexico), Mykonos (Greece), Sitges (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Bangkok (Thailand).
  Source: IGLTA Destination Reports; CMI Annual LGBTQ+ Tourism & Hospitality Report, 2023

• Circuit travel events — including White Party, Matinee Barcelona, XLSIOR Mykonos, and Black Party NYC — continue to anchor high-value gay travel itineraries, with many attendees extending into multi-night premium resort stays before or after events.
  Source: Industry reporting; IGLTA event impact assessments

• Private villa rentals and boutique resort experiences are the fastest-growing accommodation preference among higher-income gay male travelers, reflecting a broader shift toward privacy, exclusivity, and curated group travel.
  Source: Out Now Global; Airbnb Luxe and villa rental market trend data, 2023–2024

Spotlight: Costa Rica as a Strategic Emerging Destination for Gay Travelers
While established circuit destinations dominate booking volume, Costa Rica represents a uniquely compelling opportunity — and one that aligns directly with where gay traveler values are heading:

• Costa Rica became the first Central American country to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2020, signaling a meaningful shift in legal protections and social climate that directly affects gay traveler confidence in the destination.
  Source: Human Rights Watch; IGLTA Destination Updates, 2020

• Manuel Antonio, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, has an established reputation as one of Central America’s most gay-welcoming destinations, with a visible and long-standing gay hospitality scene that has grown steadily over the past decade.
  Source: IGLTA member destination reports; Out Now Global destination intelligence

• Costa Rica’s world-leading eco-tourism infrastructure — it generates over 99% of its electricity from renewable sources and has committed to carbon neutrality — makes it an exceptional fit for the sustainability values that gay travelers consistently report prioritizing.
  Source: Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT); National Geographic Geotourism data
• The destination offers premium-quality nature, adventure, and wellness experiences at accessible price points compared to European and Southeast Asian circuit destinations — making it well-suited for Royal Grand Resorts’ upscale, non-ultra-luxury positioning.
  Source: Costa Rica Tourism Board market positioning data; IGLTA market intelligence
• Costa Rica is seeing growing interest from the North American gay travel market specifically, driven by direct flight access from major US cities, short travel time, and the combination of natural beauty, legal safety, and established gay-welcoming infrastructure.
  Source: IGLTA Americas region market updates; Google Trends LGBTQ+ travel search data, 2023–2024

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When author Daniel Gawthrop laced on his first pair of skates as a twelve-year-old Peewee house league player in 1975, he never imagined he would grow up to start a gay men’s hockey club. Nor that his mainstream media musings about the beauty of “Russian Rocket” Pavel Bure would prompt “straight” commentary by everyone from Don Cherry to The Village Voice. These stories and more form the heart of Cutting Edge, a fascinating probe into the role of gender, masculinity, and sexuality in defining—and too often demeaning—Canada’s national sport.

Examining the game through a queer lens, Gawthrop reveals how hockey has evolved from the bastion of straight white male machismo it used to be into a sport where women and players of all ethnicities are welcome and where gender-diverse people now have safe places to play. At the same time, hockey’s powers that be—from scandal-ridden Hockey Canada to the overly cautious NHL—have been reluctant to embrace change, especially in light of the growing social pushback against queers in sport.

And then there’s Heated Rivalry, whose unexpected mainstream success has led to questions about whether it will encourage queer professional players to finally come out, all while introducing the sport to new generations of fans. With great insight and verve, Cutting Edge explores this phenomenon and more, pointing the way to a better, more modern, and more inclusive kind of hockey.

Available from Arsenal Pulp Press

Daniel Gawthrop (he/him) is the author of six non-fiction books, including The Trial of Pope Benedict and The Rice Queen Diaries (both Arsenal Pulp Press), and one novel, Double Karma (Cormorant Books). A co-founder of the Cutting Edges, Vancouver’s LGBTQ+ hockey association, he has written extensively about hockey for numerous publications. He lives in New Westminster, BC.

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In 1956, lonely teenager Teddy is drawn to the water and woods surrounding his small town, where he meets bad boy Wade and becomes overwhelmed by his attraction to him. During the rapturous early period of their friendship, the two range over the area’s mountains and waterways before falling out after high school over Teddy’s sexuality. In the years following their separation, Teddy—now going by Ted—struggles to live openly as a gay man, finding and losing lovers at parties, dance clubs, and cruising spots in a surprisingly wild pre-Stonewall gay Vancouver. He is befriended by a lively crew of eccentrics—a new chosen family—who aid him in finding fulfillment both as a gay man and as an artist. Returning to his hometown nearly a decade later, Ted must decide whether or not to reunite with the one who once meant so much to him: the sexy and mercurial Wade.

Confluence is a collaboration between late author Alex Turner and his husband, Lucian Childs. Drawing on his sixty-year history with his beloved West Coast home, Turner wrote much of this beautifully rendered novel before he passed away in 2019. Childs, an award-winning author himself, completed the work, a novel that is simultaneously poetic, humorous, and exuberantly down to earth.

Available from Arsenal Pulp Press

Alex Turner (1940–2019) (he/him) graduated from the Vancouver School of Art and the University of British Columbia and subsequently taught in Toronto at the Art Centre of the Central Technical School. After retirement, Alex turned to fiction, and his short fiction appears in the literary magazine Prairie Fire. Confluence is his debut novel.

Lucian Childs (he/him) is a writer whose debut novel-in-stories, Dreaming Home (Biblioasis), won the Fred Kerner Book Award and was shortlisted for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. He is a contributing editor of Lambda Literary Award finalist Building Fires in the Snow (University of Alaska Press). His work appears in Grain, Ex-Puritan, Prairie Fire, and other publications. He lives in Toronto, ON.

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In this book, interviewees include people who have worked with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Public Enemy, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, P!nk, U2, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Wu-Tang Clan, David Bowie, T.Rex, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, the Replacements, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Tom Petty, and Sabrina Carpenter, plus more. And that’s just the beginning of the credits these producers—Brian Eno, Finneas, Glyn Johns, Hank Shocklee, Jack Antonoff, Joe Boyd, Jon Brion, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Linda Perry, Mark Ronson, RZA, Sasami, Steve Lillywhite, Susan Rogers, T Bone Burnett, and many others—collectively hold.

All of these interviews come from the pages of Tape Op magazine, founded in 1996 by editor Larry Crane. Over the last thirty years, along with publisher John Baccigaluppi, Tape Op has become the world’s deepest archive of conversations about the art and science of recording music, and is still an active, print-based magazine with the highest circulation of any recording magazine in the world.

Available from Akashic Books

John Baccigaluppi is a producer, engineer, and studio owner; he met Larry Crane when he produced Vomit Launch’s third and fourth albums. He came aboard Tape Op in 1999 as the publisher, designer, and co-owner. Since then, Tape Op has become the largest-circulation recording magazine in the world. Baccigaluppi currently runs Panoramic House Studio and has worked with My Morning Jacket, Devendra Banhart, Kurt Vile, Cate Le Bon, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Feist, Deftones, Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, 7 Seconds, and Little Wings. Crane and Baccigaluppi have worked with some of the most important artists of the last thirty years, while also running a magazine that discusses the art of making records. His latest book is Making Music.

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Free and open to the public, the festival is expected to draw more than 100,000 attendees and feature over 5,000 female athletes competing across 14 sports, in addition to 21 live concerts, mentorship opportunities, speakers and panels, female art exhibitions, and a festival village. Marking the series’ 20th anniversary, Virginia Beach joins Super Girl’s nationally recognized festivals in Oceanside, CA and Jacksonville Beach, FL.

Stretching 1.5 miles from the 1st Street Jetty to the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, the festival features women’s surfing, skimboarding, skateboarding, beach volleyball, sand soccer, lacrosse, flag football, lifesaving, BMX, a 5K run, sand hockey, and free fitness classes.

Music and VIP Experience

The 2026 music lineup features headliners Switchfoot, Lupe Fiasco, Gym Class Heroes, Collie Buddz, B.o.B, and Bryce Vine, alongside female artists HIRIE, Hannah Wicklund, Emily Zeck, ANORA, Flailing Idiot, Hello Sister, McKenzi Brooke, and more.

Festival admission is free, but advance online registration is required for access to the live concerts. Attendance is limited, with tickets only available until capacity is reached. For an elevated experience, VIP and VIP Premium packages will also be available, featuring premium viewing areas, complimentary drinks, lounge access, deluxe restrooms, express entry, and more. VIP Premium additionally includes private pit access and a complimentary meal. Purchase VIP tickets.

The event runs daily Saturday, Sept. 5 through Monday, Sept. 7, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Access to the surfing, concerts, classes, speakers, and all elements are free to attend.

The competition will be televised from December to March on 28 national and regional broadcast partners, and will be streamed live on Sept. 6 – 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST via 10 digital partners, including at www.supergirlvb.com and twitch.tv/supergirlseries.

Visit www.supergirlvb.com for event details and the full festival schedule.

Follow @SupergirlPro on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn for the latest updates and announcements.

The post Super Girl Surf Festival debuts in Virginia Beach, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the world’s largest women’s sports, music, and lifestyle festival – Sept 5 to 7, 2026 appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

A true feat of storytelling and scholarship, After Oscar documents decades of sensationalist conjecture surrounding the Wilde family and exposes a century of bigotry and hypocrisy within the cultural establishment. Here is a book that will amuse, infuriate, fascinate, and shock. Readers beware-you’re in for a Wilde ride.

Available from Raincoast Distribution Group / Europa Editions

Merlin Holland is the grandson of Oscar Wilde, is an author living in France. His publications include Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess, the first complete, verbatim record of the libel trial which ultimately brought Wilde to ruin, and The Wilde Album, a pictorial biography of Oscar Wilde. He is also the co-editor of The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde as well as the editor of an abridged and commentated version of Oscar’s letters, Oscar Wilde: a Life in Letters .
After Oscar’s conviction in 1895, his wife, Constance, and their two sons were forced to move abroad and change their name to Holland. The family has never reverted to the name Wilde.

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Simón fell in love the first night he stepped into the only gay club in his unnamed coastal hometown. Albi fell too, despite Simón’s quirks—the way he blinks to capture a memory, the way his hands fly when he talks, his inescapable toomuchness. Their first kiss comes on the beach, beneath mango trees. Blink. A season on their secret shore. Blink. The hidden garden Albi tends behind the rectory. Blink. Candles on a coconut cake for his twenty-sixth birthday. Blink. Blink. Blink.

But when Albi dies unexpectedly, Simón is left wandering in memories that feel more alive than the present. Friends and family—his Tía Cachita, best friend Lenita, and estranged mother—come to pull him back. He must choose: remain faithful to a love that haunts him, or rebuild a world without Albi.

Available from Bywater Books

Mario Elías is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Syrian descent based in Chicago. His work spans fiction, nonfiction, photography, painting, and printmaking, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and cultural inheritance. His book Queering the Male Gaze reimagined masterpieces of the classical and modern canon through essays and self-portraiture, giving voice to the often-overlooked queer and female figures who shaped them. His visual work has been featured in Vogue, San Francisco Magazine, and Dazed, among others. His portrait collection, Perennial Beauty, was the inaugural show for Golden Gate University’s Social Impact Artist Series. He is the founder of The KindaSuper Project, a philanthropic initiative offering free photography and video services to underserved communities. The project has partnered with wildfire survivors, immigrant families, women-of-color-led small businesses, and wildlife rescue organizations.

The post Beloved Disciples – a young gay man must choose between the ghost of his past and the truth of who he is appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

Intricately plotted and brilliantly layered, Cherry Beach is a gripping literary crime novel that examines class, race, and corruption in one the most multicultural city in the world, Toronto.

Available from Biblioasis

Don Gillmor is the author of To the River, which won the Governor General’s Award for nonfiction. He is the author of five novels, Cherry Beach, Breaking and Entering, Long Change, Mount Pleasant, and Kanata; a two-volume history of Canada, Canada: A People’s History; and nine books for children, two of which were nominated for the Governor General’s Award. He was a senior editor at The Walrus, and his journalism has appeared in Rolling Stone, GQ, Saturday Night, Toronto Life, the Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star. He has won twelve National Magazine Awards and numerous other honours. He lives in Toronto.

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Ty Herndon may be most known for his beautiful country songs, but behind the music Herndon’s own life could be the subject of a classic country ballad. His career began as a member of the band The Tennessee River Boys—the band that would later become Diamond Rio. He found solo success after signing to Epic Records and releasing the number-one hit “What Mattered Most,” launching a decades-long career as one of country music’s leading legends.

But behind the fame, Herndon struggled with addiction, mental health issues, and his sexuality— the latter of which had no place in mainstream country in the 90’s, 2000’s and arguably through today. Facing a series of setbacks including an arrest, lawsuits and a drug relapse, all while struggling to maintain his secret, his spiral ultimately led to a suicide attempt. His subsequent successful stay in rehab led to the inspiration for his song “God or the Gun.”

Now, Herndon brings that song to life telling his full story for the first time. With profound introspection, brutal honesty, occasional humor and a lot of heart, Herndon shares how he fought against his demons and ultimately chose God over the gun.

Available from Harper Collins

Ty Herndon is an American country music artist with multiple chart-topping hits including number one singles “Living In a Moment,” “What Mattered Most,” and “It Must Be Love.” He made headlines in 2014 as the first mainstream male country music star to come out as gay. He lives in Nashville with his husband Alex Schwartz.

David Ritz is the author of the acclaimed novels The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back to Brooklyn and Blue Notes Under a Green Felt Hat. He is the only four-time winner of the Gleason Book of the Year Award. He’s also cowritten the memoirs of many celebrities.

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Spanning from 1968 to 1978, it takes in the mythology surrounding Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett (though it doesn’t name him) and hinges on Hitchcock’s teenage girlfriend (she isn’t named either). The book explores the way that Hitchcock, in his own head, linked these two figures to each other, although they never actually met.

On the way, the story mines the incremental hangover of the 1970s as Hitchcock begins to play live, teaches himself to write songs, and eventually forms the Soft Boys. There’s a side order of trolleybuses too! Hitchcock’s beautiful prose will resonate far beyond the fans of his music, and build on the literary following he established with his first book, 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left.

Available from Penguin Random House

Robyn Hitchcock is a rock ’n’ roll surrealist. Born in London in 1953, he describes his songs as “paintings you can listen to.” As much a child of Dalí, de Chirico, and J. G. Ballard as of his 1960s musical heroes, he is a master of the absurd, reveling in the beauty of the unexpected. His first band, the Soft Boys (1976–81), has remained an influential art-rock touchstone for generations of musicians. Hitchcock has floated at a tangent to the mainstream for five decades, and his songs have been performed by R.E.M., the Replacements, Neko Case, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Lou Barlow, Uncle Tupelo, Vic Chesnutt, Grant-Lee Phillips, Sparklehorse, and Suzanne Vega with the Grateful Dead, among others. He came of age in the 1960s while he attended Winchester College, an eccentric hothouse boarding school in the south of England. Hitchcock is the author of 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left, and lives in Nashville with his wife Emma Swift and their two cats, Ringo and Tubby.

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