Ukrainian travel advisor and family find haven in Canada
Max Shkurupii grew up in the travel industry. His parents founded their agency, Expressiya-SV, in Kyiv in 1996.
Early in his career Shkurupii handled operations at the agency, and eventually he ran it with his wife, Viktoriia, rebranding it as ESV Travel.
He said the agency was small but successful, and it was one of the oldest in Ukraine. Like other agencies, ESV Travel was greatly affected by the pandemic, but another huge hurdle arose on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Shkurupiis spent sleepless nights fearing for their safety. Max, Viktoriia and their children, Anhelina, 15, and Daniil, 11, slept in their coats and boots in case they needed to rush to a bomb shelter
“As parents, our main goal is to give a better life to our kids,” Max Shkurupii said. “That’s what my parents did for me, and that’s what I, as a parent, should do for my kids.”
A decision to leave Ukraine
It didn’t take long for the Shkurupiis to decide to leave Kyiv. They headed south to Max’s father’s farm but soon after made the decision to leave Ukraine entirely. Viktoriia and the children went first, traveling through Poland, Germany and Portugal, finally ending up in the Azores. Max stayed in Ukraine doing volunteer work but followed three months later with the family dog.
It was a big change: They went from living in a city of nearly 3 million to a village of 300. The Shkurupiis thought they might stay in Portugal, but the language barrier proved too great of a challenge, and they began to look for a new place to call home.
They eventually landed in Victoria, British Columbia. The climate was right, the travel industry was booming and they were welcomed under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program, which allows Ukrainians to study or work in Canada until it’s safe to return to Ukraine. It also provides some financial assistance.
Hired by an agency in Victoria, B.C.
Enter Cathy Scott, owner of Departures Travel, which has locations in Oak Bay and Sidney, two Victoria-area communities.
Even before arriving, Max had reached out to Scott and let her know he’d be looking for work. Scott wasn’t looking for advisors, but she spoke with the Shkurupiis via Zoom and agreed to meet with them in Canada. Once they arrived, she set them up with a headhunter friend.
The next day they texted her, saying how much they liked her and her agency.
“And you know what?” Scott said. “Sometimes in life, you just have to jump. I’m a big leaper.”
The following day, as she was heading out to lead a monthlong tour, she decided to hire them. Max started as an advisor on Scott’s first day back in the office, and Viktoriia started the next day in accounting.
“It couldn’t have worked out better,” Scott said. “Sometimes when you leap, it’s a good thing.”
Not only does she like them personally — she has three grown children who have left the area, and she jokingly called Max and Viktoriia her “new kids” — it has also been a good business decision.
Gratitude, all around
“It’s hard work right now, a grind, because customers are frustrated and there are all these refunds,” Scott said. “Having something like this come in, where you can look at Max and Viktoriia being so grateful for the opportunity and just so humble and wonderful as humans. Seeing what they’ve gone through, it’s just changed the atmosphere in our office completely. Everybody’s just, ‘Wow, we’re really fortunate here.’ And they’ve banded together to help them.”
Selling travel in Canada isn’t too different from selling travel in Ukraine, Max said. The biggest differences: Agencies in Canada charge professional fees; cash transactions are not commonplace in Canada, as they are in Ukraine. And Canadians have longer booking windows, giving advisors more time to plan.
Despite the upheaval of the past year, the Shkurupiis consider themselves lucky.
“I know there are lots and lots of families that were really in the center of everything happening, and they really did suffer,” Max said. “I cannot even imagine what they went through and how they lost their houses, their relatives, their friends.”
Max’s father and Viktoriia’s brother and many of their friends remain in Ukraine.
As for the Shkurupiis, they’ve made friends in their new home. Max isn’t sure Canada will be their home forever — he hasn’t made long-term plans — but he remains focused on his family’s safety.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t know what will happen in a month’s time. One thing I know for sure: I will do everything possible so that my family will be in physical, financial and psychological safety. That’s my main concern.”
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