THE PEOPLE
The Luxury Travel Designer is an international organization, with operatives in four countries – to facilitate this, we’ve embraced the very latest technological solutions. Our Nordic business model brings together dynamic young talent with more experienced colleagues on a footing of true equality; we draw the best out of one another by giving every member of the team an entrepreneurial role, a creative influence on the future of the company. This equality extends to our salary structure: all of us – even Christine – are paid the same. You won’t find any jockeying for commissions or promotions with us; we work together, we pull in the same direction, and this is what keeps our levels of service so consistently high.
When crafting journeys, each of us brings our own expertise to the table: local knowledge and networks, luxury travel experience, supplier know-how, people skills, aesthetics, administration and organisation. A love of the Nordic countries and a creative passion for travel lies deep in our bones. Together, we have everything it takes to create an unforgettable travel experience.
OUR TEAM
Christine Cecilie Gaffney
FOUNDER & CEO
Christine. For many in the Nordic luxury travel segment, that one word says it all. Christine is the mother of The Luxury Travel Designer, founding the company in 2010 in order to realize her vision of a Nordic travel service which provides not only outstanding journeys and experiences, but also meaningful encounters, connections with local people that leave a lasting impression. A restless innovator with a deeply caring core, Christine has driven, sailed and flown clients around the Nordics for more than a quarter of a century. Christine’s story is our story, which you can read more about here.
christine@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+47 982 81 917
Carly Singer Curphey
LEAD TRAVEL DESIGNER & EDUCATION PROGRAM MANAGER
One of the team’s longest serving members, Carly has risen through the ranks since joining in 2014 to become Lead Travel Designer. Drawing from her encyclopedic knowledge of the region, Carly creates journeys and experiences for clients, and supports them whilst they are travelling. She is a Certified Iceland Specialist, an authorized Bergen city guide, and has led bespoke tours aboard the Hurtigruten coastal ship along the whole length of Norway’s western seaboard.
In addition, Carly continues to develop our digital Education Program, providing agents with the resources to facilitate Nordic travel more effectively, and training suppliers to deliver the fully bespoke services our clients require. Although she holds a degree in Law from the University of Warwick, Carly preferred a career in the more uplifting, people-oriented field of luxury travel.
carly@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+45 918 16 005
Sara Marie Ytreøy
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Sara Marie joined The Luxury Travel Designer in 2017, following a degree in Tourism Management and a decade-long career in destination management, marketing and hospitality. Sara Marie’s farsightedness and profound relational competence swiftly earned her a place on the company’s leadership team. She has been entrusted with a prominent operational role in two of our latest ventures - DUE NORTH Air and Isbreen The Glacier - as well as a seat on the board.
In 2024, Sara Marie was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer. She has become the lynchpin around which the day-to-day running of our organisation revolves; the central point of contact between the staff team and our regionwide network of suppliers. In close cooperation with CEO Christine, Sara Marie’s strategic vision continues to shape the present and the future of our companies.
sara@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+47 481 50 528
Mikaela Rose Mpouma
CLIENT EXPERIENCE & BRAND COORDINATOR
Mikaela took up a full-time role in the company in 2019. A perceptive individual who sees things others miss, Mikaela is the attentive host who travels with our highest-profile clients; she reads the situation, reads the mood, and selects just the right intervention to lift a journey to new and greater heights. Utilizing her studies in International Management and Business Negotiation, she also advocates with our suppliers to optimize client experience.
As our Brand Coordinator, Mikaela sets the tone of our company culture and works to uphold a harmonious, nourishing workplace environment. She knows how to make those around her feel wanted and welcome, having volunteered to help young refugees in Norway since 2013. Throughout her own childhood, Mikaela travelled frequently with Christine and her clients, and not only as a passenger; she began co-hosting from the age of just four.
mikaela@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+47 468 03 479
Theresa Bohl
SENIOR TRAVEL DESIGNER & MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Theresa’s journey with The Luxury Travel Designer began as an intern in February 2020; she stayed the course through the pandemic to become a Senior Travel Designer and one of the pillars of the team. Theresa brings boundless energy and verve to every aspect of her work with tour production. Behind the contagious smile, however, she’s relentless and will stop at nothing to secure the very best travel experience for our clients.
Using her expertise in International Tourism Management from the University of Bremen, Theresa now leads our expansion into the European market. In her homeland she’s an ambassador both for the company, and for the entire Nordic region, opening the gateway to Nordic travel for a whole new clientele. She also provides the team with IT and technical support.
theresa@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+49 172 83 83 242
Amelie Steding
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Our new Business Development Manager Amelie first came to The Luxury Travel Designer as a young, untested intern in 2017. Seven years later she returned, now a fully-fledged professional with experience from across the travel industry, and degrees in International Tourism Management and Strategic Business Consulting. With four languages under her belt and the dust of five continents on her boots, the girl we first met has developed into a true woman of the world.
Amelie has come back into the fold to bring form, focus and creativity to our companies’ expansion. She is instrumental in charting the course of future business development, ensuring every project we undertake enhances not only the prosperity of the company, but also the experience of our clients. Working right across the organisation, Amelie holds our feet to the fire, constantly challenging us to adapt, innovate, and improve.
amelie@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+49 16 37 65 77 13
Antony Jan Aguirre
CREATIVE CONTENT & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
The latest addition to the team, Tony joined in 2022 to give The Luxury Travel Designer a new creative voice. A published poet with degrees from the Universities of Buckingham and Birmingham, as well as a specialist in Nordic song, he is the team’s in-house author and editor. As well as writing on behalf of the company, he will provide a linguistic branding and storytelling service to our suppliers, working with them to build verbal identity and refine their international communications.
Tony is currently working to develop a digital media magazine that lifts the curtain on intriguing and inspiring aspects of Nordic life and culture. It’s his role to crystallize in words the company’s philosophy of Nordic travel, to tell our story, and thereby carry our message and our offering out into the world.
tony@theluxurytraveldesigner.com
+44 785 79 68 503