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Tracey Salyer on Why the Travel Industry Can No Longer Ignore the Needs of the LGBTQ+ Community

Interview with Tracy Salyer, Senior Executive Assistant at Expedia Group

 

Hi Tracey – thanks for chatting with us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Tracy Salyer, and I live in San Francisco (I’ve been here for almost 6 years!).  I am a Sr. Executive Assistant with Expedia Group, and I have the honor of serving as Vice President of the AMERs on our Pride IBG (Inclusion Business Group) board.

 

What are your favorite holiday destinations and why?

Everywhere that I have been in Italy I have absolutely loved. The cities are full of history and culture, the people are so lively and welcoming, and the food is incredible. I do a lot of solo travel, and I have always felt safe in Italy – and have always made friends along the way!

 

Some cities that I have been fortunate enough to visit are Rome, Milan, Amalfi, Positano, Florence, Venice, Varenna, Como, and Pompeii, with my favourites being Amalfi and Venice.





 

How do you check the LGBTQ+ friendliness of a country before traveling?

Fortunately, we live in a time where it is very easy for people to share their travel experiences! I do a lot of research ahead of time when thinking about destinations that I want to go to, what I want to do there, and where I plan to stay when I’m there. There are a lot of great bloggers out there that have a very niche focus, such as LGBTQ+ travel (and within that, travel for LGBTQ+ families, party blogs, etc.), solo travel, travel for women, etc.

 

Some great ones for those within the LGBTQ+ community are Out With Ryan27 Travels, and The Globetrotter Guys.

 

Do you think “pink tourism” can be a powerful economic force?

I do!  When I hear this question, my mind immediately goes to that quote by Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

 

We choose where we spend our time and, unfortunately, more importantly, our money. This is POWERFUL. I read recently that the percentage of U.S. adults that self-identify as something other than heterosexual has doubled since 2012, hitting around 7%.  When you look at adults that fall in Gen Z, that number is even higher (I believe it was over 20%!). This is a significant amount of people that, if ignored, could result in billions of dollars in lost revenue…and this doesn’t include allies! 

 

We finally have the data to show that it no longer makes financial sense to ignore (or worse, actively discourage travel) the LGBTQ+ community.  I, for one, am excited to see companies and tourism campaigns finally make it easy to identify safe destinations for this community.

 

Where is on your bucket list?

Switzerland!  The country looks gorgeous, so I would love to visit a few of the towns and cities over the course of a few weeks. I hear there is a very vibrant LGBTQ+ community in both Zurich and Geneva, so I plan to hit those along the way 😊

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