Media, cruising, gay sex and tourist destinations

The increasing visibility of gay tourism in digital media generates debates around certain practices that are not tied to heteronormativity, as is the case with cruising. This study explores the contradictions generated by cruising as a potential tourist resource based on debates reproduced in digital media. Specifically, it examines one of the most important international LGBT+ tourist destinations, Maspalomas, and one of the best-known settings for this type of practice: the Maspalomas sand dunes. •The practice of cruising is a motivation for some gay men to choose a destination.•The visibilization of cruising is considered as a threat to other types of tourism.•There is a media debate on the practice of gay cruising in touristic areas•The practice of gay sex in Maspalomas Dunes is presented by media as a moral problem•Ecology and environment protection are new arguments to oppose gay cruising.