Adventure angels scholarship winner unveiled

Natalia Curnic is a young travel & tourism entrepreneur from Moldova

The Adventure Angels are a lively group of adventuresome women who seek to inspire women entrepreneurs in adventure travel. Moldova is a small country in Eastern Europe north of the Balkans, sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova emerged as its own country full of pride and potential. Natalia Curnic is a travel tourism entrepreneur from Moldova and is the proud recipient of the Adventure Angel Abundance Scholarship 2018. She will attend the Adventure Travel World Summit in Tuscany this October and will be able to share her unique vision of Moldova among other adventure travel professionals.

"We were very impressed by the quality of Natalia’s submission. We were thrilled and humbled to learn about what women around the world are doing to build adventure tourism and to support their communities," remarks Judy Karwacki, Chair of the Scholarship.

The scholarship was inspired by the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s mission of empowering the global community to do good through travel.  The angels created the scholarship in 2016 as a response to ATTA President Shannon Stowell’s challenge to carry forward the "Viva La Revolucion de la Aventura" theme of ATWS 2015.

"I’m a dreamer, a believer and a true lover of people, adventures and possibilities. I’m proud to have the chance to become a part of the adventure travel tribe. This is a unique opportunity to start a new chapter in GoAdventure and in Moldova’s journey as an adventure travel destination," remarks Natalia Curnic, Co-Founder of GoAdventure Moldova http://goadventure.md/ and recipient of the Adventure Angel Abundance scholarship.

Natalia will receive assistance to participate in Adventure Travel World Summit 2018, which will take place October 15-18 in Tuscany, Italy. The "Abundance Scholarship" package is valued at over $5,000. It includes a one-year ATTA membership, registration at ATWS 2018, a table at the Marketplace, a $1,500 travel stipend and 10 hours of mentorship from the Angels.

"Women are the center of the family and the community. By educating and supporting women in the adventure tourism sector of developing countries, we are helping to enrich many lives beyond the scholarship winner. I’m proud to lend a helping hand to my sisters because as women it is just what we do," stated Dana Johnson, President of the Adventure Angels.

Natalia is now be busy packing for Tuscany where she will represent GoAdventure Moldova and join three other ATTA scholarship recipients. She ultimately seeks to attract adventurers to discover and experience Moldova in an authentic and sustainable manner. She believes that receiving the Adventure Angel Abundance Scholarship to the ATWS 2018 is a major step towards achieving this goal. No doubt she will put Moldova on the adventure traveler’s map.

Valere Tjolle