Alpine Success Story| Katerina Kanashkova

Katerina Kanashkova, Masters of Arts in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership

Since her childhood Katerina has always been passionate about travel. After venturing off to the United States where she spent a summer working on a Work & Travel program, she was determined to continue her career in this exciting industry. That’s when she came across Alpine Center and was admitted to the Masters program in 2009. Two years later in 2011 Katerina completed her Masters of Arts in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership and was ready to conquer new heights. Shortly after her graduation she landed a job at a local tour operator and has been working with the same company for over eight years. In this interview Katerina shares how Alpine Center prepared her for her career, about her exciting travels all across Greece and her travel blog.

After completing your MA in International & Tourism Leadership at Alpine Center, you embarked on a successful career in the Travel industry in Greece. Could you please tell us a little bit more about how your studies prepared you for your career?

For as long as I can remember, I have always worked part-time or full-time in the tourism industry. After returning from the USA, I decided to continue my education and get a Master’s Degree in the tourism industry.  I chose Alpine Center in Athens as this was the best choice for my career.  I had the opportunity to experience real life work (during my internship) alongside fellow students in hotels on the Greek islands.

This experience helped me learn about the tourism industry and the basics of international hospitality in great depth.  The combination of theory and practice gave me the possibility not only to receive a prestigious diploma, but also to become a professional in my field.

Thanks to the education I received, I quickly found a job in one of the local tour operators as a Reservation and Tour Organization Manager.

I am very grateful to everyone whom I met during my studies and especially to the President and mastermind of Alpine Center –  Sybil Hofmann.

You are responsible for organizing and booking tours in Greece, for a leading Tour Operator — Slava Tours. Your job requires a lot of traveling. What is your favorite part of your job?

Working as a travel operator, you really get a lot of satisfaction from preparing informative and exciting adventurous tours for your clients.

I especially like the tailor-made tours, when you have the possibility to offer tourists a more unique experience covering beautiful and lesser known areas of Greece.

Another favorite part of my job is participating in different Fam Trips, where alongside other tour operators I am invited  to explore new tourism destinations in Greece. At the same time I’m discovering places I have never seen and which are worth visiting. We not only visit new places in Greece, but also stay in different hotels, which allows us to get to know and promote the Greek tourism product better.

What qualities does one require in order to work in the hospitality industry?

I believe that the most important thing is to love what you do. When you are interested in what you are doing, you want to learn something new every time and to constantly evolve and because tourism grows, we must grow with it.  Whatever we do, we must be professionals in our job, patient and always have a positive attitude.

Which is your favourite place in Greece and why?

I love to travel in Greece, not only for work, but also for my holidays. I really like the Mani region with its medieval tower-style hotels and emerald waters.

And I always prefer small islands, such as Agistri, Hydra, Spetses. I love to swim in clean and small bays, eat in cozy taverns and stay in lovely family hotels.

You have recently started your own travel blog. Could you please share more about this initiative?

I’ve started travelling very early, first with my parents, then with my friends! So, basically, I’ve been travelling my whole life.

I just can’t imagine my life without travelling, it makes my life more exciting, you get to see different cultures, experience different customs, and lots of different food varieties and I also like to share my travel experiences with other people. Basically, I had the idea to start my own website long ago, but I did not know where to start and in what format to have my website.

During my travels, I read the blogs of many travellers and realized that this is exactly what I was looking for.   Since I travel quite often in Greece and abroad, I had so many travel stories which I wanted to share. So, that’s how my blog www.limitlesstravelling.com was born, where I share my travel adventures and useful tips.  Although I am still a “new blogger”, the many positive comments which I have received until now show me that I am on the right path and inspire me work harder to achieve new goals.

Therefore, at the moment I am working hard on my blog and other social channels and in the near future you can see my new projects.