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Pride Journey: Nashville

The past few months have been nothing short of disastrous for the travel and tourism industry. Thousands of people have lost their jobs and many more layoffs are planned in the upcoming months.

As a travel journalist, I wanted to try to find a balance between safety and promoting destinations to help increase tourism. LGBTQ-friendly destinations need our business now more than ever. As someone who has personally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am still very cautious when it comes to participating in certain activities, although I have to admit, I have become less fearful than I was earlier this year.

For my first pandemic pilgrimage, I decided to head to Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville was my home for 8 years prior to relocating to Indianapolis, and although I knew Nashville was at one time a hotspot for COVID-19, I know the city well enough to feel comfortable exploring while maintaining the upmost safety precautions. For starters, I visited in the early part of the week, when the number of tourists (or bachelorette parties) would be as minimal as possible. In fact, I did not see many tourists at all during this trip.

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