The ATTA has curated a diverse group of international travel journalists, editors, influencers, bloggers, photojournalists and broadcast journalists covering adventure and sustainable travel for AdventureNEXT Near East 2019. These official media delegates attend to find inspiration and story ideas from companies who are breaking ground with novel trips and adventures. Event delegates have the opportunity to meet individuals from this impressive group of official 2019 media throughout the event, and specifically through pre-scheduled, one-on-one meetings during Marketplace.
Freelance Journalist & Editor
Traditional Media
Country: Australia
Media Outlets: Qantas, Escape, International Traveller, The Guardian, Get Lost, Wild, Broadsheet
Alexis Buxton-Collins is an Australian freelance journalist, editor and author with a strong focus on adventure travel, wildlife and cultural experiences. He is passionate about promoting sustainable travel practices and exploring the possibilities of travel to broaden minds as well as horizons. Alexis is a regular contributor to publications in Australia, the US and the UK and his creative, well-researched work has featured in a range of glossy magazines and leading online publications including The Guardian, Escape, Qantas, Fodor’s Travel, Australian Traveller, International Traveller, Get Lost, Lonely Planet, Virgin, Broadsheet and Wild.
Freelance Travel Journalist + Photographer
Traditional Media
Country: Canada
Media Outlets: Canadian Traveller, Verge Magazine, Explore Magazine, Canadian Geographic Travel, BC Living, Environment 911, Vancouver Sun/Province, Canada.com
Alicia-Rae Light is a Vancouver-based travel journalist with a focus on travel, conservation, wildlife, sustainability, health and wellness, food, and authentic cultural experiences who has worked in the industry for 15 years. She's also a budding wildlife photographer. When not exploring her backyard in beautiful British Columbia by foot or kayak you’ll find her camping amongst penguins and fur seals in Antarctica, hiking to waterfalls and diving with sharks in the Fijian islands, searching for remote hot springs, or enjoying a glass of malbec while reading a great travel memoir by a fire.
Freelance Writer
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: Forbes, Outside, Backpacker, AFAR, The GearCaster
Amy Jurries is freelance journalist and photographer who loves to write about all things outdoor, bike, and human powered adventure. A bit of a digital nomad, she's normally found exploring the world on two wheels or backpacking some remote destination. Past adventure highlights include bikepacking across Central Asia and the length of Jordan and backpacking the southernmost trek in the world on Navarino Island in Chile. In 2009, she founded the website The GearCaster which profiles new technology and reviews products in the outdoor sports and cycling industries. Her work can be found in numerous magazines such as Forbes, Outside, Backpacker, and The Red Bulletin, as well as sites including AFAR, Bikepacking.com, CyclingTips, The Radavist, The Spruce, and TripSavvy to name a few.
Freelance Travel Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: Germany
Media Outlets: https://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/, paired with many other papers in print and online
Bernadette is a travel journalist and book author with an ever growing passion for sharing the world's wonders through words. Also greatly interested in local encounters and other cultures.
Freelance Reporter
Traditional Media
Country: Brazil
Media Outlets: Outside Brazil, The Traveller
Born in 1970 and based in São Paulo since then, Caio Vilela is a geographer, journalist, photographer and, mostly, a fixer for foreign TV directors producing contents in Brazil. As a reporter, he has written and photographed professionally since 1992, as has published text and photo stories on Folha de S. Paulo, Playboy, National Geographic Brasil, Trip, Gol, Tam nas Nuvens, Rolling Stone, Superinteressante, Elle, Travel and Tourism, 4 Wheels, Scoreboard, Geographic Horizon among other prestigious newspapers and magazines. Working on hour long documentaries and docu-drama to hard news live transmissions, has collaborated to several European and North-American TV channels such as ABC News (United States), YLE (Finland) , ARTE (France-Germany), ARD (Germany), CBC (Canada), ABC (Australia) and CNN Español (based in Miami), besides producers working for the British channels Channel 4, Discovery and BBC.
Freelance Travel Writer
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/
Cristina was a launch editor at Women’s Health magazine before going freelance for 12 years and by-lining close to 500 articles for major media brands.
WideOyster Media / Photographer
Traditional Media
Country: Netherlands
Media Outlets: WideOyster Magazine (NL/DE/UK), National Geographic Traveler NL, Newsweek (US), AS Adventure Magazine (BE), Outdoor Magazin (DE), Oxigeno (ES)
Seeing the potential of online publishing, Frits joined WideOyster.com from Edition #1, taking his experience with imaging straight into the appearance of the magazine. Frits started his career as an award winning photojournalist covering the Middle East and Balkan, publishing in Time Magazine, New York Times, Guardian, The Independent, and Dutch media. As an adventure photographer you can find him hiking mountains, canoeing rivers, kayaking seas, rafting white water, canyoning gorges, klettersteigen rock faces and paragliding. His work is published in National Geographic Traveler, Outdoor Magazin, and of course in WideOyster Magazine. Frits has a passion for indigenous cultures and his projects regularly take him to remote places. This resulted in a wide ranging experience working with NGO’s, World Bank, EU, etc. Being able to support community based tourism projects with publicity and quality content gives him great satisfaction.
Freelance Travel Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Hemispheres, Delta Sky, Robb Report, Yoga Journal, Private Clubs, Endless Vacation, Sierra
An award-winning journalist with an ear for music and an eye for adventure, Hannah tells stories for National Geographic Traveler, Hemispheres, Delta Sky, Mic, Sierra, Robb Report, Private Clubs, and others. She’s quick to say “yes” — recently to motorcycling across Morocco with a mustachioed stranger — and geeks out on cultural stories and sustainability. While San Diego may be basecamp these days, Hannah is a woman at home in the world.
Travel Editor
Traditional Media
Country: United Arab Emirates
Media Outlets: The National News, UltraTravel, Lonely Planet
A deputy travel editor based in the Middle East, Hayley Skirka is a reporter with 10 years of experience and endless stories to tell with a specialist interest in travel. Currently writing, commissioning and editing print and digital travel content at The National newspaper - the largest English language news service in the UAE with bureaus in Abu Dhabi, London, Egypt and Washington DC. She is also a freelance contributor to Time Out, World Traveller, Stylist, Sorbet, Dubai Tourism, Lonely Planet & more.
Freelance Travel Writer
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: https://www.mensjournal.com/ (5.3 million
Ian Centrone is a freelance travel writer and photographer, contributing to print and digital publications such as Travel + Leisure, National Geographic, Esquire, Men's Journal, Hemispheres, and more.
Senior Content Manager - Paco Nadal
Content Creator/Influencer
Country: Spain
Media Outlets: 1000 Sites to See, El Pais
Throughout her professional life, Ida Plaza has been involved in the tourism sector, in which she has held various positions always related to destination promotion strategies, public relations and content creation. From 2011 to 2018 she was account director in one of the leading tourist communication agencies in Spain for the leisure and MICE segments. Since 2018 she has been part of the team of Paco Nadal, one of the main Spanish journalists specialized in travel whose professional work can be seen in the most influential media, both in the written press and on radio and television. She is the Content Manager and Head of Communication for the team as well as co-editor of 1000sitiosquever.com, a travel website specializing in travel where she writes and takes photos of destinations around the world. She holds a Master's degree in Art and Cultural Heritage Management.
Freelance Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: Freelance journalist
Jake Emen is a freelance travel, food, and drink journalist. He spends as much time as possible each year on the road searching for the very best places to go and the most unique adventures to try.
Freelance Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: Canada
Media Outlets: Postmedia's Canada.com, Paddling Magazine, enRoute, Frommer's, TravelAge West, Outside Magazine, Verge Magazine
Jessica Wynne Lockhart is a Canadian freelance journalist who resides in New Zealand. An outdoor enthusiast, she has covered everything from heli-fishing in Australia's outback for the Toronto Star, to cycling across Tasmania for Toronto Pearson Airport's AWAY magazine. She is a regular contributor to Postmedia's travel site, Canada.com. Her award-winning travel writing and photography has also appeared in Chatelaine, the Globe & Mail, enRoute, TravelAge West, Paddling Magazine and more. A former international development practitioner, she is the contributing editor of Verge Magazine, a publication devoted to "travel with purpose," which covers issues related to ethical and sustainable travel.
Walking On Travels/Twist Travel Mag
Influencer/Blogger
Country: United States
Media Outlets: Walking On Travels. Twist Travel Magazine, WalkingOnTravels.com, Thrillist.com, Verge, TravelAge West Family Getaways, Family Travel (Australian), Trivago
Keryn Means is a freelance writer and digital influencer living outside of Washington, DC. whose work gives hope to parents who see kids as a roadblock to travel, instead of an excuse to explore. In 2016, Keryn launched Walking On Media, LLC, a parent company to her two sites (WalkingOnTravels.com and WalkingOnMom.com), and Twist Travel magazine, a digital magazine directed towards active, stylish millennial traveling parents, as well as digital influencer projects where Keryn works with destinations and brands to create an authentic message that resonates with millennial and Gen X travelers, especially moms who don’t want to let go of their travel dreams. Keryn has laughed at the naysayers by bringing her boys to far off lands like China, Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, back and forth across the USA, Mexico, Canada and Europe. Keryn loves to encourage families to take that first step out the door, the hardest step of all.
Destination Editor at Lonely Planet
Traditional Media
Country: United Kingdom
Media Outlets: Lonely Planet
Lauren is a guidebook author and freelance travel writer who specialises in off-the-beaten-track destinations, adventure travel and responsible travel. She's been widely published in Lonely Planet, where she was the editor for the Middle East and North Africa for nearly five years, as well as Expedia Explore and Horizon Guides.
Adventure Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: Germany
Media Outlets: Terra Magazine, WideOyster Magazine, Business Punk, Globetrotter Magazine
As a freelance adventure journalist focused on adventure, extreme challenges, and remote, hard-to-get-to locations, Malte Clavin's work has been published in NatGeo Traveller, WWF, GEO, SPIEGEL, ADAC Traveller, Bild, Globetrotter (CH), Terra, Terra Mater, and ZEIT. An experienced keynote speaker, Malte has also told 19,000 people in 17 countries what treasure you can unearth with the courage to set out to pursue your personal challenges and adventures. As German editor-in-chief & lead strategist of WideOyster Creative, he realizes stunning campaigns for destinations - gaining millions of views. He also brings expertise as a management consultant having accompanied over 40 digital projects in 12 countries.
Freelance Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: Departures, Vogue, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, Roads & Kingdoms, BBC
Marcia DeSanctis contributes to Vogue, Departures and Town & Country magazines and her work has also appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, goop, Roads & Kingdoms, Marie Claire, O the Oprah Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, Creative Nonfiction, Departures, Tin House, Cargo Lit, The Common and Off Assignment. Her travel essays have been widely anthologized, including five consecutive years in both Best Woman’s Travel Writing and Best Travel Writing. She is the recipient of five Lowell Thomas Awards for excellence in travel journalism, including Travel Journalist of the Year, for her essays from Rwanda, Morocco, Russia, Haiti and France. Marcia has a BA in Slavic Language and Literature from Princeton University and was Valedictorian of her graduate school class at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, where she earned a Masters in Global Affairs in 2008.
Freelance
Traditional Media
Country: Canada
Media Outlets: Postmedia, EXPLORE, Robb Report, NUVO, Canadian Traveller, Globe and Mail
Mark Sissons has been writing about his adventures and travel topics he is passionate about for nearly two decades, reporting from every continent. His scope remains broad: he is always interested in a good story, especially if it has to do with family travel, snowsports and off-the-grid outdoor adventure. As a freelance writer, Mark contributes to many North American newspapers, magazines and websites.
Photographer/Writer/Author
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: https://findyourparadise.co/how-to-explore-switzerland-italian-style
Assignments have taken photographer/writer/author Mark Edward Harris to more than 100 countries on all seven continents. His editorial work has appeared in publications such as Vanity Fair, LIFE, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, GEO, Newsweek, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Hemispheres, AFAR, Wallpaper, Vogue, Architectural Digest, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, and The London Sunday Times Travel Magazine as well as all the major photography and in-flight magazines. Among his numerous accolades are CLIO, ACE, Impact DOCS Award of Excellence, Aurora Gold, and IPA awards. His books include Faces of the Twentieth Century: Master Photographers and Their Work, The Way of the Japanese Bath, Wanderlust, North Korea, South Korea, Inside Iran, The Travel Photo Essay: Describing A Journey Through Images and his latest, The People of the Forest, a book about orangutans. Mark shares his photographic knowledge through magazine features and workshops around the globe.
Travel Blogger
Influencer/Blogger
Country: Brazil
Media Outlets: Trilhas e Aventuras Viagens Possiveis Turismo LGBT
Founder and CEO of Trilhas & Aventuras, Mauricio Oliveira is a social media expert, photographer, web designer, videographer, and travel consultant. Mauricio is young entrepreneur sought after by destinations in Brazil and abroad to help leverage social media and use the power of blogging to promote cultural attractions and natural beauty. Some of his international experience include working with the tourism/marketing departments of Canada, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Barbados, South Africa, Iceland, Peru, Chile, Equador, Aruba and Argentina. He is also recognized as an expert about Fernando de Noronha, the archipelago which is Brazil's most famous tropical paradise.
Senior Editor, TravelAge West
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: TravelAge West, Explorer, Family Getaways
Michelle Juergen is the Associate Editor for TravelAge West, Explorer and Family Getaways magazines. Though born in Houston, she considers herself a native Southern Californian and loves exploring everything Los Angeles has to offer. Her interests include but are not limited to: correcting everyone’s grammar, playing in an adult dodgeball league, frolicking in the woods and planning her next off-the-grid dream vacation. She formerly worked at a business magazine, but travel was calling much more loudly.
Co-Founder of Safareya.com
Traditional Media
Country: Egypt
Media Outlets: Safareya.com
Adventure, stories, and a healthy disregard for conventionality led Monica Gerges to uproot her life from Canada to Cairo where she’s unleashed her 10 years of storytelling and wordsmithery on Egypt’s digital media and publishing scene, starting as a senior editor at one of the country’s biggest online lifestyle publications. Now, driven by her conviction that we were created for far greater things than complacency, she daylights as Co-Founder and Executive English Editor of Safareya.com – the first online publication capturing the quirks of the Middle Eastern travel narrative. In another life, she traveled to festivals working a mac ‘n’ cheese food truck, and started blogging before it was cool. So, what’s your story?
Wander Woman Podcast Host / Freelance Writer
Traditional Media
Country: United Kingdom
Media Outlets: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/phoebe-smith
Phoebe is a multi-award-winning travel writer, photographer, presenter and broadcaster (specialising in adventure, sustainable travel, wildlife conservation and family travel). She is creator and host of Wander Woman: A Travel Podcast. She regularly writes for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Walk, The Great Outdoors magazine and is a correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent. She is also Sleep Storyteller-in-Residence at Calm where her stories have been listened to over 30 million times and narrated by Stephen Fry, Cillian Murphy and Danai Gurira to name a few. Phoebe is the author of 10 books and co-founder of the #WeTwo Foundation, empowering underprivileged young people using the power of adventure.
Editor-in-Chief, Scuba Diver Life
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: https://scubadiverlife.com/ 100k UVs per month
Travel and adventure writer and editor with 17 years experience in the travel editorial field, focusing mostly on scuba diving and water sports adventure.
Freelance Travel Writer
Traditional Media
Country: Italy
Media Outlets: SUB Underwater Magazine, Camminare Magazine, Radio MonteCarlo
Sauro Scagliarini has lived his life pursuing the pleasures of outdoor activities and travel experiences, and enjoys telling the stories of places and people. Sauro has a particular passion for triathlons, mountain biking, road cycling, and bikepacking, but also writes about culinary adventures and gear and equipment.
Freelance Writer
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: afar.com, adventure.com, Sierra Magazine, The Denver Post, Horse Illustrated
Based in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Stacey writes about travel, adventure, nature, and science. An anthropologist by training, a lifelong equestrian, and an avid climber, she's most comfortable unearthing unusual stories in their wide-angle context and accumulating as much dirt as possible under her fingernails. She writes for Sierra, Hemispheres, Horse Illustrated, Atlas Obscura, and others.
Travel Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: Canada
Media Outlets: https://winnipegfreepress.com
Steve has worked in the newspaper business as a sports and travel journalist for 36 years. Steve has recently retired from his position as Sports Editor at the Winnipeg Free Press and plans to spend more time exploring great destinations and sharing his experiences with his longtime audience.
Travel Writer & Photographer
Traditional Media
Country: Australia
Media Outlets: International Traveller, Escape, Get Lost magazine, Signature Luxury Travel & Style, Vacations & Travel, Horizons, Audi magazine
Sue Gough Henly is an award-winning travel writer and photographer who has been published on four continents. Her byline has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Travel & Leisure and all the major Australian travel publications. When she doesn't have sand between her toes, a kayak paddle in hand or a pack on her back, she writes about indigenous culture as well as food and wine. She divides her time between a treehouse in Sydney's Northern Beaches and a farmhouse outside Bordeaux.
Freelance Journalist
Traditional Media
Country: United States
Media Outlets: See above
Sunny Fitzgerald is a freelance writer and sustainable travel specialist. Her work appears in National Geographic, The New York Times, Lonely Planet, Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, BBC Travel, and more. Sunny grew up in a small town, but was determined to live big - adventuring to Asia, Latin America, South Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. She splits her time between Hawaii and Jordan, has destination expertise in 20+ countries, certification in sustainable tourism, and more than a decade of experience designing international travel for adventurous and conscientious travelers.
Writer/Photographer, Globe Guide
Influencer/Blogger
Country: Canada
Media Outlets: https://www.globeguide.ca/
Tamara Elliott is an award-winning travel writer/travel blogger who has visited 70+ countries. She's the founder of Globe Guide, which offers savvy tips for exploring destinations around the world while showcasing unique experiences. Tamara is also the founder and travel editor of The Gorge Guide, which focuses on the best experiences in the Columbia River Gorge. Tamara's work has appeared in publications including Outside Magazine, Reader's Digest, Lonely Planet, National Geographic (Spain) and AFAR, and she has been featured by Frommer’s, Fodor's The Globe and Mail, National Post and MoneySense Magazine. She frequently appears in on-air travel segments on Global News, CTV and News Talk 770
About Us
Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association is the largest global network of adventure travel leaders. Our community is made up of ~30,000 individual guides, tour operators, lodges, travel advisors, tourism boards, destination marketing and management organizations, outdoor educators, gear companies and travel media who share a belief and commitment to sustainable tourism. The connections and creativity of this vibrant community come together both virtually and in person to create and deliver the solutions that propel our businesses and our communities toward a responsible and profitable future.
