HE Travel History (as of June 2026)
Hanns Ebensten and his partner Brian Kenny joined a tour group that included parents with children to raft down the Grand Canyon in 1971. Afterward Hanns said, “Oh yes, the Canyon was delightful, but wouldn’t it have been extraordinary to have spent that time with a congenial group of gay men, instead of all these parents who are all clearly miserable trying to keep these children under control?”
That inspired Hanns to open his own company in New York City and to design the first ever tour for gay men – a Grand Canyon rafting trip in 1973. At the time, most states still had laws outlawing “sodomy”, making it illegal to be openly gay in most of America. Hanns’ tours provided a refuge for gay men still tightly in the closet in their “real worlds” at home and work. To be a bit discreet, Hanns described his tours as being for “discerning gentlemen”.
One of Hanns’ earliest tours was to French Polynesia, including a stay on Marlon Brando’s private island of Tetiaroa. Being in New York, Hanns went to the Pan Am Building to book flights with Pan American Airlines for his group of homosexual gentlemen. Alas, Pan Am refused the booking for travelers who were considered criminals in many states. So, the ever-resourceful Hanns went to the nearby office of French Airline UTA. The French welcomed Hanns’ group with open arms, and made sure the flights included some handsome French flight stewards.
During the 1980s, Hanns and Brian bought a small house in Key West, as their winter getaway. After a few years, Brian decided to stay in Key West year-round, and Hanns soon joined him, moving Hanns Ebensten Travel’s office to Key West.
In 2004, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) invited Hanns to deliver the keynote address at their annual convention in Vancouver. The IGLTA Board was so moved by the gay travel history that Hanns shared that they renamed their Hall of Fame award after Hanns. (They then promptly gave Hanns the honor of being the first recipient.) Each year an altruistic individual or company receives the Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award. It goes to those who did the most to make the world a safer place for LGBTQ+ travelers. Hanns passed away in 2006. However, he lives on in the movement he created and is often referred to as the “Father of Gay Travel.”
Philip Sheldon started leading tours for Hanns in 1999, starting with a 2-week tour of China where Phil had previously been assigned by IBM. In 2000, Hanns told Phil that he would rather write books than business letters, so he sold Hanns Ebensten Travel, Inc. to Phil in January 2001. After 9/11/2001, bookings for higher end leisurely tours dropped considerably. However, adventure travelers kept joining cycling, hiking, and other active tours.
In August 2002, to regain some momentum, Phil purchased Alyson Adventures, an LGBTQ+ adventure travel company founded by Sasha Alyson. Sasha previously founded Bay Windows newspaper for Boston’s LGBTQ+ community, as well as book publisher Alyson Publications. (Phil’s late former partner Jim Rusnak wrote Chapter 10 of Sasha’s groundbreaking book One Teenager in Ten.) In all his endeavors, Sasha sought to break stereotypes while enhancing travel experiences for his friends and their loved ones.
The brands remained separate for several years, but in 2012, all tours were merged into one company. The company name was changed to HE Travel, with tours split into “Adventure” and “Cultural” tours. By this time, when most travelers were “out” in their “real worlds”, all tours were opened to gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans-gender travelers, and any other open-minded friends and family. In other words, our tours became open to anyone who could enjoy a tour with a gay flair!
In late 2014 OutWest Global Adventures joined the HE Travel family, carrying on the traditions of founders Aaron Kampfe and David Heinzen, and more recent owner Ron Wilcoxson.
In 2016, a couple of our Utah-born staff members returned to the state for family reasons and opened a second office. In September 2017, Phil joined them in Utah to ride out Hurricane Irma, which washed over the Florida Keys. By the time he could return home to Key West a month later, he had decided to also move the HE Travel HQ – and himself – to Salt Lake City.
In a surprise to many of our Key West and large-city friends, Salt Lake City has a thriving gay community. And with so many young Mormons who did missions around the world, the city is quite cosmopolitan despite its remote location. And with its large airport with non-stop flights to most large US cities, as well as Europe and South Korea, it’s just a bit more convenient than Key West for travel.
In the summer of 2018, Ben McAdams, the Mayor of Salt Lake County heard about this small gay tour company that moved from “libertine” Key West to “buttoned down” Salt Lake City. He thought this was pretty cool, so he invited Phil to be the keynote speaker at an economic development conference held at the Snowbird Resort.
COVID proved to be a challenge for HE Travel, as with every other travel company. However, we came through stronger than ever, thanks to the generosity of our clients, many of whom let us keep their deposits until they were ready to travel again. With the pandemic now behind us, we are excited to bring new innovations to our travelers, including rapidly growing our Custom Tour division. With our 50+ years of building relationships around the world, along with our unique group tours, we can create pretty much any personal tour that you would like!
A note on our adventure tours: Our adventure itineraries are active vacations, full of options and opportunities. On our biking trips, for example, you can follow our suggested route with the group; take the same path at your own pace; or venture off on your own to explore uncharted territory. The active nature of our trips makes it easy to get to know others in the group — and to make new friends in the areas we pass through. If you find it invigorating to bike along a country road, to stop and soak your feet in a stream, or to hike along a mountain trail with a friend, not knowing what’s just around the corner, then give our adventure tours a try
If you want a well-organized group tour to enjoy the history and culture of a destination without having to work too hard, we recommend our HE Travel Classic cultural tours.
Find out why Out & About, the widely respected online gay travel newsletter, gave us their Editor’s Choice award for Adventure Travel, and why OutTraveler Magazine named us Gay Tour Operator of the Year.
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