Our ecotourism ethics
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Awards
TO DO!97
To know more about this Award, visit the award's home
Ecotourism Showcase 2000 at the annual Non Profits in Travel Conference in Washington DC.
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Conservation in action
Tropic has been supporting indigenous communities and environmental campaigns since its inception with income generated by our ecotourism programmes and with donations made to us by former clients, foundations and other supporters.
Mission Statement
With the aim of contributing to the protection of the integrity of the threatened cultures and natural environment of the Amazon region, our foundation Acción Amazonía, now called CONSERVATION IN ACTION supports those communities already working to defend their cultural and environmental integrity. We work towards this goal through political, technical and economic assistance designed to strengthen and demonstrate respect for indigenous culture, conserve biodiversity and contribute to community managed sustainable development programs, which will always count on community participation in the planning process.
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Visiting Ecuador with Tropic is an inpirational ecotourism experience.
TROPIC is an award-winning ecotourism company specialized in providing high quality travel experiences in Ecuador's most spectacular natural areas in the company of its native peoples.
At Tropic we offer our clients an unforgettable experience in a culturally sensitive style, while contributing to the conservation and sustainable development of the places we visit.
TROPIC grew out of the need for a tourism operator which could demonstrate that environmental protection and cultural respect can be compatible with running a successful business.
While many of Ecuador's (and the world's) most valuable and beautiful regions are falling victim to insensitive 'development' at the hands of the oil, timber and monoculture industries causing a tragic loss of biodiversity, now more than ever it is necessary to create viable economic alternatives which give value to this ecological and cultural richness.
At TROPIC we believe one of the best ways of conserving an area - whether it be tropical rainforest in the Amazon, paramo grasslands or Andean cloudforest, mangrove forests on the coast or the incredible uniqueness of Galápagos - is by taking people to these areas to experience their magic first hand.
Our naturalist guides are bilingual experts and committed conservationists. They always work with a local or indigenous guide, both to provide the visitor with a higher quality experience, as well as to ensure that the people who live in these special areas are benefiting economically from tourism and thus have an incentive to conserve their environment.
The interest and respect which our clients show for these indigenous communities also strengthens values and encourages the survival of traditional knowledge which has suffered erosion and unappreciation for too long.
In other words, we don't see ecotourism as a catchword for enticing unsuspecting conservation - conscious clients, but as an ongoing project for sustainable development in the world's last remaining natural treasures which provides abundant possibilities for cultural interaction beneficial for both sides.
So with TROPIC Journeys in Nature, you not only get excellent professional service from our experienced multi-lingual staff, but also the assurance that your visit to the Galápagos, the Amazon, the Andes and the Pacific Coast is having a positive environmental and cultural impact.
At least 10% of our profits is donated to environmental protection programmes in Ecuador, through our related nonprofit Acción Amazonía and including The Cuyabeno Defense Committee, the Amazon Defense Front, the Amazon Environmental Monitoring Network, the Huaorani Peoples' Organization (ONHAE), the Huaorani Community of Quehueri'ono, the Galápagos Guides Club and others.
Meet our team
Andy Drumm - President
Andy, a Welshman, founded Tropic in 1993 after years of working as a naturalist guide and divemaster in Galapagos and in the Amazon. Over the years he has become a specialist in ecotourism development and often works as a consultant. Currently, he is the president of Amazon Commission of the Ecuadorian Ecotourism Association and coordinator of the Cuyabeno Defense Committee.
Jascivan Carvalho - General Manager
Jascivan obtained his first degree in commercial engineering with a major in marketing from Quito's Catholic University, and after working in marketing, management and finances for medium and small enterprises, went on to complete his Masters in Planning and Management of tourism destinations in Barcelona. He has also worked as a consultant in community ecotourism with indigenous communities in Ecuador.
Having lived in several countries in Europe and South America, Jascivan is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, and has developed a fully multi-cultural sensitivity.
