“When we first started in the industry, they didn't want to charter to us. And now we're one of the largest charters in the world,” says the founder of Olivia Travel.
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00:00 It's the happiest place on earth.
00:03 I know they sometimes say Disney is, but no, Olivia is.
00:07 Hi, I'm Judy DeLugatch, and I'm the co-owner and founder of Olivia Travel.
00:19 We are a travel company for women.
00:21 Primarily lesbian, but every woman is welcome.
00:24 And if you're trans, and you feel like you belong there,
00:27 whether you're male to female, female to male, you're always welcome on Olivia.
00:31 We actually started as a record company in 1973.
00:37 We were radical lesbian feminists when we started Olivia,
00:40 because we wanted to change the world for lesbians.
00:42 I had started this women's record company, and so I was out of the closet my entire adult life.
00:49 But when I went with my partner on vacation,
00:51 we were in an environment where we were the only ones, you know,
00:55 who felt insecure.
00:57 It made it very clear to me that there was a need,
00:59 particularly if I was in the closet on vacation,
01:02 I assumed women who were in the closet all their lives
01:05 would really love a place where they could be themselves.
01:09 So I charted a ship.
01:11 I sent a letter out to my mailing list at the time, which was in 1989.
01:16 And I said, "I think you'd like to be free to be on vacation
01:19 and dance with your partner or hold hands."
01:22 So I charted the ship.
01:24 "Sign up now. I need 600 of you. You can't cancel, and it's a year from now."
01:28 And it's four nights in the Bahamas, and 600 women signed up right away.
01:33 So I knew I was on to something.
01:35 In 1990, we had our first trip.
01:38 That was the beginning of Olivia Travel, and it's the happiest place on earth.
01:42 I know they sometimes say Disney is, but no, Olivia is.
01:45 When we first started in the industry, they didn't want to charter to us,
01:50 and now we're one of the largest charters in the world.
01:54 Olivia Travel charters cruise ships, resorts,
01:58 and all different kinds of travel, like river boats and small adventure trips,
02:03 and takes them over completely, so it's a sellout each time.
02:07 And we take women of all ages.
02:09 The most wonderful secret ingredient of Olivia is that it starts in the late '20s
02:14 and through women in their '90s are on the trips.
02:18 We go to every continent and have created these amazing trips,
02:23 and the trip to the Greek Isles is one of my favorites.
02:26 I will go any time I can.
02:28 I love to go ice hiking in Alaska to see the blue of the glaciers,
02:35 and now it's time to go to Alaska if you're going,
02:37 because the glaciers are really receding, and you see the differences wherever you go.
02:42 And so many places where we can snorkel and scuba dive.
02:46 I had the most extraordinary experiences with guides in Tahiti,
02:50 where we snorkeled with the dolphins right next to the boat.
02:54 It was just some of the most extraordinary experiences of my life.
02:58 I can't think of a place we've been to where we didn't all say,
03:03 "This is the best trip we've ever done."
03:05 We say that every time, but this one is really the best.
03:08 [music]
03:14 (upbeat music)