Bio?

Maja Gudelj is Vice President of Olive Tree Escapes. Originally from Croatia, she's also the DMC's Croatia specialist. She has thirteen years of experience in the travel industry, having begun just out of high school as a hostess on a yacht before going to college in the U.S. and working for an Italian-based tour operator. She joined Olive Tree Escapes in 2017. While she¡¯s known as a top producer, she also actively takes an interest in responsible and sustainable tourism, and is passionate about designing trips that provide benefits to the locals. Gudelj will be 36 years old in December. ?

"Being named to the Travel Industry¡¯s 40 Under 40 is a great honor,"?Gudelj said. "I am even more driven to create positive change in my daily work and I hope it will amplify my voice when it comes to topics I am very passionate about - local community wellbeing and ethical tourism. Travel is an amazing industry, centered around people and relationships - I am so humbled to be recognized among this elite group."

Industry Reference

"As a travel advisor who has collaborated with Maja on multiple luxury itineraries since meeting her at the 2022 Future Leaders in Travel Retreat, I have seen firsthand how she is reshaping our industry for the better," said Lina Sutton, founder and owner of Go Wander Travel, a luxury travel agency. "What I distinctly remember from our first meeting was immediately bonding over our shared vision for sustainable tourism and the importance of directing tourism dollars to benefit local communities."?

"What truly distinguishes Maja is her ability to marry the client experience with authentic local connections. This shines through in every itinerary she designs," said Sutton. "On a recent Croatia journey we collaborated on, she arranged an intimate dinner in an olive grove, organized a private oyster farm tour, and introduced clients to hidden gems near Sibenik. It remains one of my favorite itineraries I¡¯ve worked on in my career thus far."

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