OUR TEAM

TIKA SVANIDZE-VANCKO

Tika is founder and president of the Tika Tours. She was born and raised in Georgia, before studying, living, working, around the world including the Netherlands, Singapore, Chicago, and Switzerland. Tika studied tourism and law in the Netherlands. With her previous senior roles in the luxury travel industry and destination management, she has amassed a wealth of experience. She strongly believes that travel can change lives, and most importantly builds bridges between people. Tika currently resides in the Netherlands, spending her summers in Georgia. She loves to travel and enjoys skiing, hiking and other outdoors activities. Spending time with her husband and three sons is among her greatest joys. She speaks English, Dutch, German, Georgian and Russian.

DAVID ARUTINYAN

David is Business Development Manager at Tika Tours. Humorous, curious, and creative with a broad vision and excellent intuition for introducing new products, David assesses and identifies new opportunities, develops and markets them. His broad skills contribute to ensuring complete product success. He touches many different groups – customers, sales, marketing, finance, operations and web technologies. As a man who is au fait with both luxury and adventure he is perfectly positioned to ensure Tika Tours delivers both. David enjoys active holidays and always blazes new trails. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in tourism marketing and speaks French, English, German, Georgian and Russian.

BAYKAL DOGAN

Baykal Dogan was born in 1975 in Ankara, Turkey, and came to the Netherlands after he graduated from the Turkish Folk Dances department of the Turkish Music Conservatory, the Istanbul Technical University. Baykal joined International Danstheater (ID), the Netherlands oldest dance company, upon invitation of Mauritz van Geel, director of ID, in 2001, where he performed as dancer, choreographer and musician for ten years. Additionally, Baykal obtained his master’s degree from Codarts Rotterdam, the University of the Arts. Baykal has been living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for fifteen years and joined numerous music and dance related projects, album studies, performed countless concerts and went on tour with amongst others the Netherlands Wind Ensamble, Holland Baroque, the Holland Symphony Orchestra and Solamente Naturali Bratislava. Currently, Baykal works with International Dance Ensemble Paloina as choreographer, with Amsterdam Rakkas Dance Compay as art director and with Istanbul Deaf Dance Academy as art advisor and choreographer.

ALEX MELANASHVILI

Alex is Outbound and Inbound Tour operator in Tika Tours and he is responsible for planning and organizing of tours as in Georgia, as well as in other countries worldwide. Equipped with extensive travel, work and voluntary experience in multiple countries, he decided to settle down in Hospitality Industry and since creates experiences for his guests.