Taking the lead in gay rights in Southeast Asia, Vietnam becomes the second country in Asia (after Isreal) to allow same sex marriage on 1 January 2015. 

Some say that this change will help boost the country’s economy along with the reduced visa requirements for seven Asian and European countries. John Goss, director of Utopia Asia, a gay resources website based in Bangkok said that this helps spread the word that Vietnam is becoming a more gay-friendly place and it will have a positive effect on tourism.

“Many of them have double incomes… Gay travel tends to be recession-proof,” said Goss. According to Community Marketing Inc research in San Francisco, 29% of Gay Lesbian community in the States take at least five leisure trips a year and it generates 100 billion US dollars in tourism business.

(Content source: Bloomberg.com)