TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 1, 2014 / Travel - it leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller. At Contiki (www.contiki.com), we connect young travellers to the time of their lives, and have an insatiable appetite for discovering new things in every nook and cranny of the world. To continue sharing our discoveries with young travellers for decades and centuries to come, we need to respect and protect those places through everything that we do.
As a continuation of the Earth Month initiatives from last year in the Galapagos Islands, Contiki Holidays has invited a selection of 12 inspiring storytellers from around the world to travel to Costa Rica for their newest Contiki Cares partnership (www.contiki.com/contikicares) with The Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC). From March 29th-April 7th, the group of bloggers, filmmakers, photographers and social media experts will join Contiki's sustainability partner Celine Cousteau on a VIP conservation trip, based on the brand's own Costa Rica Unplugged itinerary. For two nights in Tortuguero, the storytellers will team up with Celine and the STC to track leatherback turtles and protect their nests from poachers in the area. When they're not protecting the majestic endangered turtles, the storytellers will be experiencing all that biodiverse Costa Rica has to offer in true Contiki fashion - zip lining through the rainforest, rafting through the rapids, taking a dip in the hot springs and touring the canals in hopes of spotting some of the beautiful wildlife native to the area.
"At Contiki, we are committed to respecting the regions we travel to - from our work with Celine Cousteau and the Sea Turtles Conservatory, to creating content that inspires future generation of young travellers to do the same," says Contiki Canada President, Brad Ford. "Earth Month is a perfect time to raise awareness about environmental initiatives and let our partners, passengers and media know about the work we're doing through Contiki Cares with these incredible Canadian and international storytellers."
Two of the Storytellers attending Contiki's Costa Rica trip are Canadian content creators with a passion for travel and the outdoors. Mirae Campbell from Vancouver, BC was chosen as one of three winners for her photo entry in a global contest held by Contiki and Matador Network (http://www.contikistorytellers.tumblr.com/) during the month of February, for the grand prize of a spot on this epic conservation adventure. An extensive world traveller - having visited Japan, Cuba and several African countries and an amateur photographer who works on the slips at a ski resort in BC; Mirae's photos showcase her native province through snowy winter scenes and a morning "glacier dip" in the crystal clear waters of Gerabaldi Lake. Joined by fellow contest winners from USA and the Netherlends, Mirae will have a Matador representative and photographer present to help her hone her skills as she documents this life-changing experience working with Celine Cousteau and the STC.
Also joining the trip is Canadian blogger, photographer and world traveller, Seattle Dredge (https://twitter.com/SeattlesTravels). Seattle took off on her first Contiki trip last November on a media FAM through Thailand. Since the Contiki Thai FAM, Seattle posted 13 photo diaries of her trip. In addition to updating her followers on her popular blog and social channels, Seattle writes for Travel + Escape, AFAR, and has been featured in photo roundups on sites like Mashable, Complex and Huffington Post.
Additional Storytellers include:
Ben Brown https://twitter.com/MrBenBrown Vlogger. Photographer. Kayak World Champion. UK
Elise Swopes https://twitter.com/Swopes Graphic Designer. Mobile Photographer. Chicago, USA.
Jamie McDell - https://twitter.com/JamieMcDell Songwriter. YouTuber. Auckland, New Zealand.
Mikael Daez - https://twitter.com/mikaeldaez Actor. Model. TV host. Manila, Philippians.
Sarah Duff https://twitter.com/sarahduff Photojournalist. Cape Town, South Africa.
Storytelling has the powerful ability to save the planet - follow our incredible conservation story on Instagram and Twitter using the #contikistorytellers hashtag or visit contiki.com/storytellers for the chance to win a trip to Costa Rica.
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About Contiki Holidays
Contiki is the world leader in youth travel experiences, a brand that is all about discovery, epic moments and making every second count. Our journeys unlock the local way of life in each and every destination we visit, and with over 300 trips in more than 50 countries, we're the experts in providing life-changing experiences for 18-35's. Our brand mantra is #NOREGRETS - we treat every day as a new adventure, build friendships that last a lifetime and live every day like it's our last, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
Contiki is a part of a joint initiative with The TreadRight Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation established by The Travel Corporation to encourage sustainable tourism within our own family of brands and in the places we visit. To date, TreadRight has donated more than US$2 million to sustainable tourism projects around the world. To find out more about our work with TreadRight visit: www.treadright.org
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Marie Anne MacRae
Director of Public Relations
Contiki Holidays Canada
[email protected]
416-915-7016
Erica Adelson
PR & Digital Media Specialist
Contiki Holidays Canada
[email protected]
416-322-8468 ext. 7297
SOURCE: Contiki Holidays