Paul Gauger is VisitBritainās executive vice president, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. He has a job both fun and challenging, where he convinces the western hemisphere to vacation in the United Kingdom.
Adding to Gaugerās professional fulfillment is his corresponding role as VisitBritainās global lead on LGBTQ+ tourism. Nearly a decade ago, Gauger spearheaded the campaign Love is GREAT Britain, which promoted the region to queer visitors after marriage equality was legalized there. A new version of the campaign, GREAT Love, launched this year at Sydney WorldPride.
āGREAT Love is the British governmentās campaign promoting the U.K.ās values of inclusivity, diversity, and freedom,ā Gauger says. āThe tourism elements showcase the warm welcome of a modern U.K. through the eyes of LGBTQIA+ storytellers.ā
Born in Britain, raised in Australia, and now residing in New York, Gauger has not only witnessed the travel industryās relationship with the queer community evolve ā heās helped institute that change.
āIāve always championed the LGBTQIA+ traveler and in the beginning, I found that some people questioned why we would need to reach this audience or why the way we target a LGBTQIA traveler would be different,ā Gauger says. āIn those early years, it was less prevalent to see specific marketing campaigns with a same-sex couple, so there were some who were resistant, but persistence and education helps people understand why it was important to show all walks of life.ā @paulgauger
