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There’s one rule LivTours refuses to compromise on: no more than six guests per tour. In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Angelo Carotenuto, Founder and Co-owner, and Kristin Karstendotter, Co-owner of LivTours, to explore how that simple decision helped shape a very different kind of tour company.
Angelo and Kristin explain why six isn’t just a number. Smaller groups remove many of the things travellers have come to associate with traditional sightseeing, from following flags and listening through headsets to being rushed through an attraction on a fixed script. Instead, guides can have real conversations, adjust the experience on the fly, and create the kind of personal connection that travelers remember long after they return home.
We go back to LivTours’ beginnings, when Angelo was guiding on the streets of Rome, and explore how Kristin brought the operational discipline needed to scale that original idea across multiple countries and hundreds of curated experiences. They share the realities of making small-group tours profitable, why guides find the six-person format more demanding but ultimately more rewarding, and how smaller groups can open doors to more intimate experiences, even in incredibly busy places like the Vatican Museums.
The conversation also looks at what’s next for LivTours, from the growth of its family and luxury travel offerings to the upcoming launch of Madrid, all while keeping the same people-first philosophy at the heart of the business.
Sustainability is another big part of the discussion. Kristin shares how LivTours works with eCollective to measure the carbon footprint of more than 350 tours, while Angelo explains how local guides, direct relationships with suppliers, lower-impact transportation, and guest education all play a role in building a more responsible tourism model.
And, of course, we talk technology and AI. For LivTours, the opportunity isn’t to replace the guide or automate away the human side of travel. It’s to use technology behind the scenes so the people delivering the experience can be even better at what they do.
Because as travel becomes more automated, LivTours is making a compelling bet on the opposite: that the experiences we value most will be the ones that still feel genuinely personal, spontaneous, and human.
Learn more at livtours.com.
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