Mark Orwoll
Mark Orwoll is the former International Editor of Travel + Leisure, where he was on staff for 30 years. As a freelance writer, he has contributed features to Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, Town & Country, AARP, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, Frommer's, the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, Robb Report, and dozens of other outlets. He won the Silver Award for the 2025 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year, among the most prestigious travel-writing awards in America. Other accolades include a Gold Award in Adventure Travel from the North American Travel Journalists Assn., a Gold Award in Cruising from the Society of American Travel Writers (East), and an Aegis Award and a Telly Award for "The Next Destination," a TV documentary he co-produced for NBC News. He was an adjunct professor in the M.A. in Publishing Program at New York University, a lecturer at the Rice University Publishing Program, and a feature-writing instructor at Mediabistro. As a public speaker, Orwoll has made remarks as a panelist, moderator, and/or keynote speaker at events around the globe, including those sponsored by the International Travel Show in New York, the China Travel Awards in Beijing, the World Tourism & Travel Council in Agra, India, and Seabourn Cruise Line on a sailing from Bombay to Singapore. Mark has appeared as a travel expert over 600 times on television and radio, including more than 75 times on NBC's Today Show in Studio 1A and on location in the U.S. and overseas. He holds a Master's in English from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor's in Journalism from San Diego State University. He is the author of four books, including a travel memoir, "Just One Little Hitch" (Pleasant Villain Press, 2024). Orwoll and his wife make their home in New York's Lower Hudson Valley.
