After a 20-year career at Travel Impressions, Elyse Elkin founded Exclusive Group Travel. She is responsible for changing how annual leisure and hotel group contracts are issued.
A trade publication will publish an obituary when someone of high standing in the industry dies. The industry lost Sandals Chairman Butch Stewart, Marriott CEO ArneSorenson, Phocuswright founder Philip Wolf, and former ASTA presidents Thomas Keesling Sr., and Mike Spinelli in 2021.
Sometimes, however, we lose someone very early in our careers who, it can be argued helped the giants reach their heights.
Joe Gorga, a 41-year-old man who died from a heart attack, was one of these people. In 2005, he was an intern at Travel Impressions. He was assigned to me in Mexico, where he promoted charters.
Joe Gorga Photo Credit: Courtesy the Gorga family
Joe was a travel agent and salesperson. He was given more responsibility. He was able to create contracts and worked hard for the recognition and success that many leaders of large companies and destination marketing agencies received.
Joe enjoyed being part of a team. He loved meeting hoteliers and doing everything he could to increase their market share and sales. He loved analyzing the reports that we sent to suppliers. Tianguis Mexico's annual trade show and Cancun Travel Mart was his favorite time of year. He was also very fond of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's annual gathering. The one held in Jamaica was actually the first event he attended when he started in the travel industry.
Joe was a hard worker, but he had a way to make even the most difficult tasks seem simple. He proved to be an excellent (and omnipresent!) guide for his staff. He would do anything to help a travel advisor or supplier. On the one hand, he was a human calculator but he also had a great sense of humor.
He was also a sponge and thirsty for knowledge. He was always learning and never stopped trying to learn. One thing that he learned early was not to say "no". He was always available to help travel advisors when they needed it. Advisors would contact him to get price matches, confirmed rooms, or details on amenities that they desired for their clients. He would answer any questions and provide detailed information. He would often convince us to book a hotel that an advisor wanted. He was most satisfied when he was helping others.
Exclusive Group Travel was founded by him and he was open to accepting the position I offered him as vice president of product.
Industry peers who came in contact with him will miss him greatly. I was often told by suppliers that he had built a great team and was always willing to do whatever it took to make any business or individual succeed. He will be missed by me too. He was one in a billion.
Joe gave and gave. Even after his death, he was still a organ donor. His father Steve Gorga, who is well-known for his leadership roles in several companies, was notified that Joe's bone marrow saved the lives of 49 others and that another person will be able to view the world through his beautiful, blue eyes.
Sometimes, successful people, such as the CEOs of large companies, forget that their success is largely due to Joe and others like him who give their heart and souls to travelers and the travel advisors who make the bookings.
It is not to diminish the legacy of industry pioneers and leaders who have left a great legacy. Knowing Joe, as well as my own, it is time for everyone to recognize that every success story in travel is a collection of success stories that, taken together, create the foundation for success for others.
Joe Gorga is the one I would like to see recognized, honored, and known.
