Natalya, how did you get into tourism, and when did you realize it was your calling?
I got into tourism entirely by chance in 1997. I was asked to help sell tickets for international passenger transport. We opened a small branch in Lisakovsk. But I soon realized that tourism was much broader than transportation. I began traveling to different cities and countries, getting to know the industry, and gradually realized that I had found my calling in this profession.
What is a curated tour? What truly makes a journey curated?
A creative approach. You cannot simply take a tour from an off-the-shelf catalogue and resell it under your own name. A curated tour begins with an original idea.
If we are creating an itinerary through Spain, for example, we can build it around Dina Rubina’s book “The White Dove of Córdoba.” The protagonist’s journey in the book passes through certain cities, and we string these places together along a single thread. The result is not merely a trip to Spain, but a journey through a particular story.
We have a special itinerary through Puglia. Many people know that it is the “heel” of Italy, but far fewer realize just how much this small part of the country has to offer. We choose towns of artisans, arrange workshops, and introduce travellers to local residents.
Does a curated journey involve far greater engagement than a conventional package tour?
Of course. To me, travel is an opportunity not merely to explore and observe, but to become part of what is happening.
It may include old cobbled streets, monuments in small towns, artisans’ shops, restaurants, taverns, and castles. But we try to go further: dressing in period costumes, dining in a real castle, setting out to search for truffles ourselves, and discovering the region’s culinary heritage.
We visit storybook villages, privately owned farms, and art galleries—places created to inspire and energize.
In Venice, for example, we take part in the Venice Carnival. Outfits for the women in our group are made at authentic Venetian costume ateliers. Local residents share things about Venice that no standard sightseeing tour could ever reveal.
That is what sets it apart from a conventional journey: you are not merely shown a place; you are immersed in it.
At the same time, the journey remains a vacation. How do you keep a full itinerary from turning into yet another job?
That is one of our main challenges. If you read our tourists’ reviews, one comment comes up very often: “We switch off completely.” Every evening, I send the group the schedule for the following day, but the tourists do not even want to read it. They like knowing that they are being taken care of and that everything has already been arranged.
The pace is also very important. A curated tour should not be a race. Ours usually last seven nights and eight days, which is enough time to get to know the country and truly switch off.
In Tuscany, for example, we stayed at a unique spa resort, and nearby there was an estate where we went black-truffle hunting with dogs. Afterwards, the owner prepared lunch for us. The right rhythm for a journey is extremely important. A curated tour is an exercise in meticulous craftsmanship.
Do you help travellers prepare for the journey?
Absolutely. Once the group has been formed, we give participants recommendations: a book, a film, and the names of artists.
When we went to Normandy, for example, we explored places associated with the Impressionists. Before the trip, I suggested that the group read “Black Water Lilies.” After that, you see Giverny and everything connected with Monet in a completely different light. You arrive prepared. And suddenly, you begin to notice details you might otherwise have simply passed by. That is the difference between a tourist and a traveller. A tourist comes to look. A traveller already knows something and wants to see more.
In the end, what does someone bring home from a journey like this besides photographs?
I think what matters most are the lasting impressions. Curated tours combine travel and relaxation. They are stories that will remain with you forever. You can read about a castle, see a painting, or watch a film about a particular town. Or you can find yourself on that very street, enter a historic castle, sample the local cuisine, talk to its owners, find a truffle in the Tuscan soil, or follow in an artist’s footsteps.
These journeys appeal to people who are interested in nature, culture, and heritage. For them, simply adding another country to the list of places they have visited is not enough.
I want people to return home feeling as though they have lived a small lifetime in another country. And years later, I want them to be able to say, “I was there. I felt it. I experienced it.”
Perhaps that, for me, is the true meaning of a curated journey.
