Quiana “Q” Patterson

Member Spotlight: 
Quiana “Q” Patterson
Owner
The Pampered Traveler

If there is a passport stamp, a destination, an airline, a tourism board or a travel opportunity somewhere in the world, chances are Quiana “Q” Patterson has found a way to connect with it.

A 16-year veteran of the travel industry, Quiana’s career began when she was recruited to join a local travel agency and ultimately worked alongside its owners until they retired. When the opportunity came to take the reins, she didn’t simply step into an existing business. She gave it a new identity, completely rebranded it and created The Pampered Traveler, building a business that reflects her philosophy of travel, service and experience.

But selling travel was never enough. Her vision has always been bigger: not just selling the world, but changing the way New Orleans connects to the world—and how the world connects back to New Orleans.

That vision became very real in 2020 when she partnered with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Bahamasair to develop her own charter flight from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to Nassau. The July 2–4, 2020 MSY-to-NAS charter was poised to give New Orleanians a direct opportunity to experience The Bahamas while strengthening the relationship between the destination and New Orleans. The pandemic ultimately brought the inaugural flight to a halt, but the initiative remains one of the clearest examples of her willingness to move beyond selling travel and create new pathways for it.

Her commitment to expanding those pathways led her to serve two terms as President of the Travel Agents of Greater New Orleans (TAGNO) and to work with Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and airline partners to explore opportunities to increase charter and airlift business to and from New Orleans.

Over the years, she has worked with tourism boards, resort brands and government entities across the Caribbean and beyond, including Jamaica, Barbados and The Bahamas. She has served as a local liaison for strategic partnerships, travel events and agent development, consulted on destination initiatives and worked with the New Orleans tourism community, including the New Orleans Office of Tourism under a previous mayoral administration.

When destinations have faced some of their darkest moments, she has often been there to help them find their way back. She has supported disaster recovery efforts and served as an ambassador encouraging travelers to return to destinations when communities were ready to welcome them again. Her work has earned her multiple Agent of the Year honors and specialist designations spanning destinations around the globe.

Most recently, she traded a suitcase for a hammer.

Returning from a Helping Hands FAM in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, she joined the Jamaican government and fellow travel professionals in rebuilding a school destroyed by Hurricane Melissa. For her, travel has always been about more than vacations. It can build economies, create relationships, tell stories, open doors and, sometimes, literally help rebuild a community.

Through Quiana PR & Events, she brings her travel expertise together with marketing, media, talent management and event production. She works with influencers, dignitaries and brands on travel-focused initiatives, has produced national television programming and has appeared on television, podcasts, radio and in print. She also lends her strategic and communications expertise to political campaigns and initiatives.

Outside of work, she is happiest surrounded by family, dogs, horses, nature and good food. She has operated a dog-sitting business since 2019, while yoga keeps her grounded, travel keeps her curious and trying new food is, naturally, part of the research.

Being a member of MidSouth Women in Tourism (MSWIT) brings together many of the things she values most: relationships, shared knowledge, professional growth and women who understand the power of collaboration. For someone who has spent 16 years building bridges between destinations, brands and people, being part of a community built around those same principles feels like a natural fit.

After a career spent connecting people to places, she looks forward to connecting with the women behind the places and businesses that make tourism so dynamic. And if there is one thing she has learned from a career in travel, it’s this: the best journeys rarely begin with a destination. They begin with a connection.

There is much in the works—including charter flights curated exclusively by The Pampered Traveler.