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Company type | Travel |
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Founded | 1973 |
Founders | Judy Dlugacz and Rachel Wahba |
Headquarters | , United States |
Revenue | $25 million (2007) |
Website | www.olivia.com |
Olivia Travel is a travel company that creates cruise and resort vacations curated for lesbian and LGBTQ+ women. [1] Olivia was co-founded by Judy Dlugacz and Rachel Wahba [2] as a reimagination of Olivia Records' mission of lesbian representation and freedom.
Olivia offered its first all-woman cruise in 1990 and remains the only travel company in the world offering cruise, resort, riverboat, and adventure trips curated for lesbians and LGBTQ+ women.
Olivia takes its name from the heroine of a pulp novel by Dorothy Bussy who fell in love with her headmistress at a French boarding school.
The company has attracted attention due to endorsements from lesbian celebrities, such as golfer Rosie Jones (who was the first professional athlete in America to endorse a gay-oriented company) [3] tennis player Martina Navratilova and basketball player Sheryl Swoopes. Entertainers who have performed on Olivia cruises include the Indigo Girls and Margaret Cho. [4]
The company was involved in mild controversy in 1998 when its attempt to buy an ad on the sitcom Ellen 's anticipated "coming out" episode was rejected by ABC. [5]