Our story traces back to the summer of 1995, when a group of students of the Samarkand Foreign Languages Institute decided to organize and coordinate their services as tour guides, interpreters, transport and tickets handlers etc. In few years they were working for the biggest tour agencies, hotels, airways and official entities, having seen all corners of Central Asia and establishing diverse contacts throughout the region and beyond.
Leo Danilchik, Ravshan Bakaev and Jamshed Safarov were in the centre of this process. Later all of them held key positions in then biggest Samarkand hotel – Afrosiyob Palace and some other entities. Basing on their experience and knowledge, but most importantly – desire to provide bespoke services for foreign tourists, in 2009 Leo and Ravshan joined efforts with their old friend Dilbar, as well as new talents, establishing Veres-Vert, which soon became a regional representative office of the UK-based Marco Polo Discoveries (MPD)/Legendary Discoveries.
Being primarily a destination management company (DMC) in partnership with number of the UK, European, American and Australian travel operators from the onset, Veres-Vert increased a number of its guests (yes, we treat our tourists as guests, not just customers) from several hundred to thousands in less than ten years of operation. We firmly believe that our guests are unique in their appreciation of history, culture and nature. So the range of our services equally corresponds to the wide scope of interests of our guests – from the well-organized groups or individual travellers on tailor-made trips to the private jet voyages and transcontinental luxury train journeys.
Veres-Vert has its own personnel of the expert tour-guides and operators, who have undergone special trainings by our European partners, as well as established links with thoroughly selected hotels, restaurants and other service providers with full certifications (see about our health & safety policy). From 2013, we have our own fleet of comfortable coaches.
Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-2021, Veres-Vert kept all the partnerships and commitments to clients. We also diversified into the international filming crew fixing and ground services, successfully hosting in Uzbekistan a number of large-scale reality TV and smaller factual program crews from various European and Asian studios. The company expanded to MICE, business consultancy services, established partnership with a leading publishing and PR firms, as well as plans to bring investors for unique property projects in hospitality and other sectors.
Our head-office is located in Samarkand, but we have own representatives in Tashkent, Bukhara and Khiva, as well as trusted partners in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Our core team also includes:
Dilbar
Co-founder and business development executive.
Dilbar has a medical background, but established herself as an entrepreneur. Her passions are travel, classical art and literature.
Languages: English, Russian
Liliya Kirsich
Tour operator.
Lilya is also a native Samarkand and graduate of the local Institute of Foreign Languages. She has been working with the founders of the company since the Afrosiab Palace Hotel times and is responsible for Italian groups and VIP tours, train reservations and special events. Young mother, Lilya is fond of techniques for a healthy lifestyle and nutrition.
Languages: Italian, English, Russian.
Natalia Panfyorova
Tour operator.
Natasha came to Veres-Vert already having experience in hotels and airline agencies in Samarkand. She is responsible for aviation logistics and group tours at our company. She is interested in cinema and reading classics.
Languages: English, Russian.
Elena Usmanov
Chief Financial Officer
Elena Viktorovna is one of the most experienced and respected finance specialists in the tourism industry of Uzbekistan, with more than 25 years of experience in this field. She loves pets, gardening and floristry.
Viktoria Yalanskaya
Expert Tour-leader and Guide.
Viktoria is highly experienced guide, who leads our tailor-made group and individual tours across Uzbekistan. She combines her deep knowledge of history, culture and traditions of Central Asian people with her natural sense of humor and care about every aspect of itinerary. Viktoria is passionate about local arts and crafts, as well as a keen blogger promoting Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage on social media.
Flyura Usupova
Bukhara Representative.
With decades of experience in the tourism field, Flyura is a very respected figure in her native Bukhara. Her knowledge, network and often hidden presence are invaluable in making days spent by our guests in Bukhara smooth and unforgettable.
Odilbek Masharipov
Khiva Representative.
Odilbek and his family live at the heart of Khiva – inside the ancient Ichan-Kala citadel, and for generations they have been engaged in hospitality sector. He is very proud of his heritage and makes every effort to ensure that our guests feel themselves in Khiva as if in a fairy tale!