2025 Next Gen: Kaitlyn Gallegos
Kaitlyn Gallegos is one of the 2025 Next Gens, as nominated by Groups Today readers for making a difference in the industry with her fresh, progressive perspective.
Growing up, Kaitlyn Gallegos' mom taught at the middle school she attended. Every year, she organized group trips for students and their families to New York City through EF Tours, leading Gallegos to fall in love with group travel at a young age.
"When I was 18, my sister and I joined a group trip to China, visiting Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, and at that point I knew I wanted to find a way to be a part of this industry," Gallegos said.
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Gallegos.
A lifelong resident of Southwest Louisiana, Gallegos began her career at Visit Lake Charles six years ago, working in the domestic tourism market. She's since been promoted to Director of Global Sales, welcoming groups and individuals worldwide to her hometown.
"Group travel opens the door to the world and connects millions of people every day," Gallegos said. "Having the opportunity to connect my community to people who want to explore everything Southwest Louisiana has to offer is an incredibly fulfilling journey."
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Gallegos.
While often traveling, attending tradeshows and sales missions, Gallegos is committed to staying involved locally, having served on the boards of Rotary Club of Lake Charles, Fusion Five, Chuck Fest and Big Brothers Big Sisters of SWLA.
She loves getting to know everyone she meets—from industry executives to tour leaders, bus drivers, and local guides. As Gallegos explained, "Everyone has a unique story to tell about how they found themselves working in tourism."
"This industry," Gallegos explained, "is made up of millions of moving parts that all work together to fulfill the goal of promoting travel, and I think that at the heart of that goal is a drive to share a piece of our own story with the world."
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Gallegos.
Gallegos recognizes that working in tourism, by nature, involves a lot of travel.
"From tradeshows to sales missions, we find ourselves on the road quite a bit," she said, noting she tries to stay involved in local organizations as a way to not only give back to her community, but to stay plugged-in to what's going on. "In 2022, I was recognized by Fusion Five, our local young professional's organization, as 30-Something of the Year. The same year, Visit Lake Charles was recognized as Business of the Year. It meant so much to me to see the work we do to promote Lake Charles recognized by an organization so close to my heart."
Photo courtesy Kaitlyn Gallegos.
Looking toward the future, Gallegos hopes to have a long career in the travel industry.
"I love working on collaborative projects with other DMO, state, regional and national partners," she shared. "There is strength in working together to create multi-city or multi-state programs and itineraries—and it makes sense when you look at it from a visitor perspective. Rarely do people travel to only one place at a time. Continuing to grow these partnerships in order to provide well planned, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for travelers is a major goal of mine."
Photo courtesy of Kaitlyn Gallegos.
Kaitlyn Gallegos is one of the 2025 Next Gens, as nominated by Groups Today readers for making a difference in the industry with her fresh, progressive perspective. Click here to see the January/February feature.
Written by Sarah Suydam, Managing Editor for Groups Today.
Main photo courtesy of Shonda Manuel - Healthy Image Marketing.
