About Us
We are Eco Escape Travel – a home for all things ecotourism, sustainable travel and enticing adventure content. Our goal is to grow a community of smart travellers who can share, explore, and contribute eco-travel and adventure content here. Our four pillars make this site unique and diverse and all eco-content has one or more of these pillars to be a part of the platform.
We are inspired by nature, and we grow through community – the community is you, and the community is the many people who aim to make a difference while globetrotting or exploring their own backyard.
By filtering content through our pillars, we hope to promote the many experiences, businesses, and organizations around the world doing great things in travel and adventure.
What is ecotourism and how do our pillars fit within it?
The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines Ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.”
Within this definition, it is easy to conclude that this type of travel is responsible, ethical, educational, and impactful. Ecotourism can be interpretive hikes, staying with a local homestay, scuba diving with a responsible and informative company, an educational tour, or simply a self-guided trek that engages you with the environment and reminds you why we have so much left in this world worth fighting for.
We researched our pillars, vetted them through industry leading professionals, and we came up with these:
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT is having a direct socioeconomic impact on the community by diversifying, donating, or employing locals. Community Empowerment grows community leaders, is change leading, bold, and entrepreneurial.
CROSS-CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT is having a direct interaction with the culture you are visiting. You are learning from them, whether it be textile skills, about their history, or staying with a local family in a homestay. Cross-cultural engagement with another culture will have a lasting impact long after a trip.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP is protecting the environment for those after you by implementing conservation and sustainable practices. It is committing to the protection and responsible use of the surroundings for future enjoyment.
ECOLOGICAL CONNECTION is immersion and engagement with land, water, flora or fauna in the environment. This is disconnecting to reconnect all while being responsible and conscious of the impact that is being made.
After multiple countries, continents, beer labels collected, and years of travel banked, Jonny Bierman’s interest in ecotourism was sparked through a professor that was spearheading a community empowerment project in Costa Rica during his Tourism Management studies. Through partnerships such as EarthWatch Institute, Rainforest Alliance and Vancouver Island University, he worked with the Heart of Gold Project which continues today to diversify farming communities through the introduction of sustainable tourism.
Fast-forward a few years, a Mexico study abroad (in Español, and maybe some street taco & Corona pairing studies,) and a few years invested in the industry, Jonny currently works in content marketing and travel media in Banff National Park, Canada. His love for media, content, travel, and adventure are brought into one through his current position in Banff, and by coupling his passion for ecotourism into the mix, Eco Escape Travel was grown. He hopes to grow the business into a thriving hub for ecotourism and adventure travel content, all while inspiring you, the community, to contribute and help lead the way in sustainable travel.