Olivia’s Tisha Floratos: “Where else can you go on vacation and just be yourself?”

DIVA sat down with the Vice President of Travel & Business Operations at the travel company designed for lesbian and LGBTQIA women 

BY ELLA GAUCI

Olivia offers a holiday like no other. Every single one of their experiences is solely for LGBTQIA women. Imagine hundreds of sapphics lounging on cruise decks, splashing on private beaches, and dancing the night away. It’s practically heaven. 

Tisha Floratos has been working at Olivia since 2002 and even met her wife on one of the trips. Since then she’s seen the company skyrocket to dizzying new heights, with an Olivia cruise even starring on The L Word. 

We sat down with Tisha, Vice President of Travel & Business Operations, to find out more about what sets Olivia apart. 

You’ve been at Olivia since 2002. Could you tell us a bit about the story of Olivia and the work it does within the community? 

Olivia began as a record company in 1973, and in 1990 we transformed into a travel company for lesbians and LGBTQIA women. I joined the company when we were only doing four trips a year – now we can have anywhere from 15 to 35 trips a year. They are full-charted, full buyouts, cruises, resorts, riverboats, and adventure trips. What that means is that every trip is all Olivia. We completely transform the vacation experience. We created an entire custom experience that is designed for lesbians and LGBTQIA women. 

When the guests come on our trips what we like to say is that on the trips we come together in community, they’re transformative, they’re life-changing, they’re connecting, and you meet lifelong friends. As a team member of Olivia, I was able to have that experience on my first Olivia vacation. I was able to go on a trip and see our guests be open. Feel free the minute they stepped foot on the cruise. To see not just camaraderie but a deep love for community. Where else can you go on vacation and just be yourself? And hold your partner’s hand? Dance like no one’s watching?! 

We have to ask about that episode of The L Word. What was that like? 

If you’re familiar with The L Word, you might remember the episode called Land Ahoy. We were the feature part of that episode and we had the cast of The L Word on our trip. They filmed for the entire week and their episode featured the cast going on an Olivia cruise. It was the start of the growth of our company. It became a worldwide sensation. People still today will say “I heard about Olivia through The L Word”.

Why are spaces like Olivia so vital for the LGBTQIA women’s community? 

Even as things have changed like marriage equality, it’s so important that we have Olivia. Coming together in a space with other queer women, and having that safe space, is so important to really be your authentic self. It’s this feeling of just being 100% yourself on vacation. And Olivia also takes care of all of the details! We take you to places in the world where maybe you don’t feel safe going on your own. Where else can you go to have an all-LGBTQIA women’s community? Many of the lesbian bars are going. Maybe you get one night a month at a club. We don’t have a whole lot of spaces. 

You actually met your wife on an Olivia trip. Could you tell us a bit more about that? 

In 2004, she was an Olivia guest and I was working the trip. We were in Mexico, and she came up to me towards the end of the trip and told me that she was a DJ, and gave me her business card in case we needed a one. Sure enough, we hired her the next year. For the next few years, we would see each other on trips and we kept in touch. On this one trip, we realised that there might be something here. We’ve been together ever since. She proposed to me at Rockefeller Center during Christmas while we were ice skating. We had a long engagement until marriage equality was passed in the United States. We have a daughter, and we have a two-year-old dog. We’re this amazing family unit!

What can you tell about the different programmes that Olivia offers? 

One of the things that we want to make sure on our trips is that people are finding ways to connect with each other. Sometimes, when you’re on a vacation with 2,000 women it can be hard to connect with smaller groups. It’s important to bring the smaller groups together. We have our Solos programme which creates space for solo travellers to find each other and come together. The Solos Programme is all week long and every day there are gatherings planned just for them. At every port of call, there is an excursion exclusive to the Solos. 

What can you tell us about “Olivia City”? 

Next year, we are celebrating our 35th anniversary of Olivia Travel, and we are throwing our Coral Jubilee. It’s going to be the largest lesbian, LGBTQIA women’s cruise ever. We’re calling it Olivia City based on the sheer size of it. It’s a Caribbean cruise. It’s going to be our biggest celebration, and we’re all so looking forward to it. There’s going to be 2,600 guests! We are packing it with all the top entertainment we’ve had for the last 35 years, as well as some fresh new talent and some surprises. We’re going to do an Olivia GALA with a prom theme because so many of us may not have been able to go to prom with our partners. We’re going to have a big talent show. We’re creating an experience and vacation like no other, and we’re going to break a world record while we’re at it. 

DIVA magazine celebrates 30 years in print in 2024. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable. 

✨linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine ✨