Hey! So nice to speak with you! Can you tell our readers a little bit more about yourself? Where are you originally from and where do you live now?
We’re Taunya and Christoph Dressler, co-founders of Dressler Detours.
Taunya grew up in Salt Lake City, behind what she jokingly calls the “Zion Curtain," always looking beyond the western horizon, curious about languages, stories, and the wider world.
Christoph grew up behind a much more literal curtain in a small village in East Germany, where as a child he could see the lights of West Germany glowing just beyond a border he couldn’t cross.
When our walls came down and our horizons opened up, we eventually met through international education, studied experiential learning and global affairs, and spent years living, teaching, and guiding across Europe, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Today, we’re back in Utah--a place we love for its wild places and vast expanses.
Tell us one thing you love about where you live now?
We've seen a lot of the world, but there's nowhere like Utah. We both grew up on skis with a love of mountains and cold weather. As young adults, the desert got under our skin and into our souls and we can't live without it. Utah is the only place we can have the best of both worlds, literally all in one day. Salt Lake is also a vibrant, diverse, and increasingly global community that aligns perfectly with our values. We love the community we've built here and the partnerships we've cultivated.
Tell us a little bit more about what your company does and how it started? How does it help your customers?
Dressler Detours is a small-group, educational travel company for people who want to understand places, not just visit them.
We design immersive journeys led by scholars, historians, artists, and local experts—travel rooted in learning, storytelling, and human connection. Our trips are all-inclusive, thoughtfully paced, and intentionally small, so travelers can slow down, ask better questions, and engage deeply with people and place.
The company grew naturally out of our combined backgrounds in international education, study abroad, alumni travel, and many years guiding for Rick Steves. Over decades, we watched how powerful place-based learning could be—not just for students, but for adults at every stage of life. Dressler Detours was born from a simple belief: that travel, when done with care and intention, can foster empathy, community, and perspective in a fragmented world.
Our travelers often tell us they come home not just with photos, but with new ways of seeing.
If someone wants to start a business, what's advice that will help them?
Don’t wait for perfect timing—it doesn’t exist. Start before you feel ready.
At the same time, build with intention. Learn your industry deeply. Seek mentors who actually know the terrain you’re entering. Find community early—entrepreneurship is not meant to be done alone.
And perhaps most importantly: let your values guide your decisions, especially when it’s uncomfortable. Growth for growth’s sake is tempting, but clarity about who you are and who you serve will sustain you far longer.
What was one feedback from a happy customer/client that you won't forget about?
A traveler once told us, “I came for the destination, but I left feeling like I had found my people.”
That sense of belonging, of being seen, cared for, and intellectually engaged, is exactly what we hope to create. Hearing that affirmed that we’re not just designing trips; we’re building temporary communities that really matter to people.
Where do you see your company in the future?
We envision Dressler Detours growing slowly and sustainably, expanding our offerings while staying true to small groups, deep learning, and meaningful relationships with local partners.
We’d love to continue building a global community of curious travelers who return again and again, not because they want more destinations, but because they value how our journeys make them feel: grounded, connected, and inspired.
What is the biggest misconception about your industry?
That travel is about speed, spectacle, or checking boxes. We see our work as an antidote to large-scale, mass travel—the kind of “if it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium” experience that first flavored international group travel.
Instead, we approach travel at a human scale, at the pace of discovery, and with a lens that offers new ways of seeing. Meaningful travel isn’t about seeing more—it’s about seeing better.
Our detours take travelers off the well-trodden tourist circuit and invite them into places at a gentler pace. We travel with scholars, storytellers, and artists who illuminate not just what you’re seeing, but why it matters. Slower, smaller, and more intentional journeys tend to create the deepest impact—both for travelers and for the places that welcome them.
What has been one of your biggest struggle building your business and how did you deal with it?
One of our biggest struggles has been the leap from knowing how to design meaningful travel to learning how to run a business that sustains it. We didn’t start with a financial cushion or formal business training—we started with experience, conviction, and a lot to learn.
We launched Dressler Detours during a season marked by uncertainty and personal loss, which forced us to jump before we felt ready. We dealt with that challenge by leaning into community, learning as we went, and trusting the relationships we had built over decades in education and travel.
Building a small, values-driven travel company also means carrying a great deal of invisible labor—care, contingency planning, storytelling, and tending to human dynamics that don’t show up on spreadsheets but make the experience meaningful. We’ve learned to measure success not just in numbers, but in trust, connection, and the depth of the journeys we create.
What was your favorite music artist and athlete growing up?
Taunya: I grew up straddling two musical worlds: James Taylor and Fleetwood Mac on one side, The Cure and New Order on the other. As for athletes, my real hero was my grandfather, who taught me to ski powder at Alta on the occasional “sick day” from school.
Christoph: I loved any music that came from the West. Herbert Grönemeyer if we're taking Germany, but I always loved Aha, The Pet Shop Boys, Bronski Beat. As a young ski jumper myself, Jens Weisflog, (who was the best ski jumper that ever was) was my hero.
Any shoutouts you want to make?
We wouldn’t exist without our community of travelers, who have been our mentors, cheerleaders, and most steadfast supporters from the very beginning. We’re also deeply grateful to the Tourpreneur community and colleagues, whose guidance and generosity have been a true lifeline.
Entrepreneurship can be isolating, and finding a community of fellow tour operators who understand the work has made all the difference. We’re profoundly thankful for the people who’ve walked alongside us and believed in what we’re building.
Where can our readers follow your work or learn more about your upcoming projects?
You can find us at www.dresslerdetours.com, and can follow us on our socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dresslerdetours/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dresslerdetours
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dressler-detours/
