The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) and the IGLTA Foundation celebrate transgender and gender-expansive people, in all their diversity, for their empowering contributions to societies across the planet. We strive to eradicate the discrimination that still prevents many gender-diverse individuals from living openly and fully as their authentic selves.
As part of this commitment, the IGLTA Foundation has formed a global advisory group to help the association create better resources to support gender-diverse travelers. The dynamic group includes Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Editor-in-Chief, Out Traveler; Renato Braga, Account Manager, Amadeus Brasil; Gabrielle Claiborne, CEO, Transformation Journeys Worldwide; author/advocate Dr. Elijah Nicholas; Alejandra Palma, Commercial Manager, Chile, Condor Travel; Rachel Reese, CEO, Global Butterflies; Diane Rodriguez, Founder, LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Ecuador; Stevie Tran, Founding Partner, Tran Arrowsmith; and Bella Thanakarn Vongvisitsin, Founder, LGBTIQ+ Tourism Asia.
“We are very aware of underrepresentation in travel, whether it’s overall marketing that fails to include transgender and gender-diverse travelers or lack of visibility in our business network,” said IGLTA President/CEO John Tanzella. “We need to develop more inclusive resources to help tourism professionals better understand the needs of transgender and gender-expansive clients.”
“There are so many safety issues and concerns specific to transgender and gender-diverse travelers that need to receive more attention globally, and we want to ensure that the tool kit we develop is informed by those we wish to serve,” said IGLTA Foundation Board Chair Theresa Belpulsi.
