LGBTQ+ Tourism with John Tanzella
John Tanzella
In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the LGBTQ media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood.
John Tanzella is the President/CEO of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA), a non-profit tourism association that is the global leader in advancing LGBTQ+ travel. IGLTA is headquartered in Florida, with additional staff located in Washington D.C., Madrid, São Paulo, Bogota, Paris, London, and Cape Town. IGLTA's network is made up of more than 10,000 tourism business professionals in approximately 80 countries. In marketing its tourism industry business members, IGLTA reached more than 4 million unique travelers in 2019. The IGLTA Foundation was created five years ago as the philanthropic arm of the association, supporting the tourism industry with research, education and developing future LGBTQ+ tourism leaders. IGLTA is the only LGBTQ+ Affiliate Member of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism. Tanzella serves on the Board of Directors for the Stonewall National Museum & Archives (U.S). Born in Boston to Italian immigrant parents, he attended the University of Georgia and resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
What are you best known for?
I guess for me, what I'm known for in my circles at work and friends is being a connector. We connect governments to nonprofits, and anything related to LGBTQ+ tourism. Working with tour operators and cruise lines and connecting businesses to show the power of LGBTQ+ tourism. And then putting in policies that are supportive of our community in different countries around the world.
What is a recent project you have worked on?
I was the one that made the case that we needed a foundation to do research projects to help the industry, to help travelers. We are very much a behind the scenes kind of organization to make change. By having a foundation, it really opens a lot of doors to the UN and European Union and different organizations and universities that can help us move things along. That would be my most proud and notable thing I've done in the past five years.
What are you working on that no one knows about yet?
One of our initiatives next year is to have conversations to find how we can leverage governments to be more welcoming to our community. It’s really challenging to be an LGBTQ+ person in Jamaica, but they are there and there are organizations but they certainly aren't recognized by the government. How can we help make change there. We also want to provide think tanks around the world that can help with communities around the world when it comes to LGBTQ+ Tourism.