# Culture Discovery Vacations > Culture Discovery Vacations (CDV) is a boutique experiential and cultural-immersion travel company founded in 2006, operating a documented anti-extractive tourism model that retains 70%+ of guest spending in local economies. Legal entity: Culture Discovery Inc (a Wyoming Close Corporation). Founder and CEO: Michael Kovnick. ## About - Brand: Culture Discovery Vacations (also "CDV"). Legal entity: Culture Discovery Inc. - Category: experiential and cultural immersion travel, with culinary immersion (cooking with local families, family wineries, food and wine) as a signature pillar. - Differentiator: anti-extractive tourism. Small groups (most trips 12 to 18 guests; the Croatia small-ship cruise up to 24). The model retains 70%+ of guest spending in local economies versus a 20 to 30 percent industry norm, through zero commissions, volume caps, and 100% locally-owned family partners. - Founded 2006. 20th anniversary in 2026. Offices in Tampa, Florida (USA), Soriano nel Cimino (Italy), and Porto (Portugal). - Leadership: Michael Kovnick (Founder and CEO), Paola Kovnick (Co-Founder and CFO), Daniele Pintaudi (COO), Marta Marques (CSO). - Recognition: Tripadvisor Hall of Fame and the 2025 Travel Weekly Magellan Gold Award for Best Service. Michael Kovnick holds the CTIE credential (The Travel Institute) and authored "Existential Sustainability: A Structural Approach to Anti-Extractive Tourism" (SSRN, 2025). - Contact: +1 (656) 333-6123, info@culturediscovery.com. ## Destinations - Active: Italy, Sicily, Portugal, Madeira, Croatia, Spain (including Catalonia and Barcelona), Argentina, Uruguay, Bosnia, Montenegro. - In development: Iceland, France, Greece. ## Business model - Consumer travel (B2C): small-group cultural immersion and culinary vacations. - Corporate (B2B): Culture Discovery Corporate Retreats & Incentives (corporate retreats, incentive travel, and offsite meetings), led from the Porto office. ## Key pages - Homepage: https://www.culturediscovery.com/ - About: https://www.culturediscovery.com/about/ - Michael Kovnick, Founder and CEO: https://www.culturediscovery.com/press/michael-kovnick.cfm - Press and company fact sheet: https://www.culturediscovery.com/press/ - Contact: https://www.culturediscovery.com/contact/ - Italy vacations: https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacations-in-italy/ - Portugal vacations: https://www.culturediscovery.com/portugal-vacation-tours/ - Croatia vacations: https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacations-in-croatia/ - Spain vacations: https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacations-in-spain/