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Media Kit
This is your resource for
information on Southwind Adventures, story ideas and marketing contact
information. We have an extensive library of high quality images that are
available for articles on the Andes, Amazon or Galápagos. Check back
regularly to find out about new trips, destinations or trends in South America
travel. Contact us to be included on our list of
media professionals and to receive press releases and other materials. Indicate
in the comments section if you are a travel writer, producer, editor, or other
media professional.
Media
Contact:
Tom Damon
President
Southwind Adventures, Inc.
PO Box 621057
Littleton, CO
80162
(800)377-9463 or (303)972-0701 fax: (303)972-0708
Email:
tom@southwindadventures.com
The Southwind Story
Southwind Adventures
has its roots in the Peruvian Andes where Luis Felipa, Director of Operations,
started a local tour company called TrekPeru in 1979. As the organization grew,
top guides from the fields of archaeology, biology, ornithology and
anthropology began working with Luis. Soon, trips expanded to serve diverse
client interests in nature, culture, and adventure.
Southwind Adventures was
founded in Santa Fe, NM in 1990 to further promote tours to Peru and the local
staff, which had worked so hard to become successful. With strong ties to South
America and a dedication to the practice of ecotourism, in which both nature
and the local culture of host countries are respected and preserved, the
company gradually expanded its partnerships and business relationships to
include destinations throughout the continent. Eventually establishing itself
as the leading company specializing in first-class nature, cultural and
adventure tours to South America.
Southwind's regularly
scheduled departures include programs in Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil,
Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Customized itineraries account for almost half of
company business. Prompt response to inquiries and flexibility in accommodating
our guests' particular needs are company strengths.
Southwind has a personal style
of travel and outstanding customer service both of which have been carefully
developed and managed at home as well as in the field. Southwind clients are
remembered by name. Every effort is made to see that each traveler's adventure
meets or exceeds expectations. It is this commitment to the highest standards
that inspires Southwind's vision for the future.
Press Releases The press releases below
are Adobe PDF files. Adobe® Reader® is needed in order to view. The
program is free and easily obtained from the
Adobe website. Contact us if you would like
press releases sent to you in another format.
Press Trips Southwind can help you
develop a unique story. We understand the importance of first-hand experience
of a destination and its people in order that travel writers and
photojournalists can share their own narratives with their audiences. We
collaborate with our partners and suppliers to design itineraries that feature
discounted (or complimentary) space for media professionals. Independent travel
writers must demonstrate that at least one article is on assignment from a
travel related publication. Please contact us to discuss
how we can help you or your editors pursue and develop an idea for an article.
Awards & Media Mentions
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Press Republican: Rainforest reveals wealth of flora fauna – January 2010
Southwind traveler Richard Frost returns home and shares with his readers the wonders of a journey to
the Peruvian Amazon. After exploring the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu, Richard and his wife extend
their adventure to the ecologically sensitive accommodations at Reserva Amazonica inside the
Tambopata National Reserve. To read the article, please click here. |
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Top Travel Specialist - 2005 – 2009
For the fifth consecutive year, Condé Nast Traveler magazine has recognized Tom Damon
for his extensive knowledge of South America and exceptional customer service, as well as Southwind's
connections and value. Once again Tom is privileged to be honored alongside the handful of select
travel professionals on this exclusive list. |
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National Geographic Adventure: Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth - 2008, 2009
National Geographic Adventure has completed their second annual authoritative ratings of adventure travel companies and has chosen to again recognize Southwind Adventures as a member of this elite community. Companies were rated on the following categories: education, sustainability, quality of service, spirit of adventure, and references.
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Longevity Award & Recognition of Customer Satisfaction - December 2009
Recognized by the Rocky Mountain Better Business Bureau for seventeen years of active participation
and satisfactory accreditation. |
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Iconic Itineraries: Peru - January 2007
Condé Nast Traveler launched a new series featuring detailed itineraries
for some of the world's must-see destinations. Working with Southwind's own
"world's top travel specialist," Tom Damon, editor Brooke Wilkinson tested,
streamlined and perfected the ultimate tour of Peru's highlights in this
premiere piece,
Iconic Itineraies. |
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Experts For Your Travel Files - October 2004
Selected as a top-of-the-line tour operator in National Geographic Traveler.
Author Margaret Loftus complies a list of experts for when you need more
than "your standard, surf-the-Internet sort of planning." |
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Best Regional Specialist - April 2004
Recognized
in Men's Journal as part of their "100 Best Trips" article by David
Nolan. Southwind was given the nod as the South American experts offering an
"insider's perspective." |
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Ten Year Award & Recognition of Customer Satisfaction
- January 2004
Honored by the Rocky Mountain Better Business Bureau for
more than ten years of active participation (Southwind has been a member for
twelve years), Southwind received additional kudos for having been "complaint
free" for the past three consecutive years. |
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Trips 2004: Wild Horizons - November 2003
Southwind's Vilcabamba Exploratory Trek was
selected as one of the World's Top 25 Trips by National Geographic Adventure
Magazine. Authors Sarah J.M. Tuff, Katherine Koss and Kiya Bajpai reveal
the best adventures for the upcoming year. |
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Top Travel Specialist - August 2003
Suzie Shride
received this coveted Condé Nast Traveler Magazine award as an
expert on travel to South America. Southwind's co-founder traveled to New York
in October to meet other top travel professionals and receive her award.
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Take It To The Limit- March 2003
Outside
Magazine's "76 Dream Destinatinons" highlights Southwind's Continental
Ice Cap Traverse in Argentina. Described as a "wilderness fix on the
gnarliest mass of ice and granite this side of the South Pole." |
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![] Editor's Choice Award - November 2002](images/award-travelholiday-2002.jpg) |
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Editor's Choice Award - November 2002
Southwind
was a recipient of Travel Holiday Magazine's "Editor's Choice Award" for
quality in travel. |
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Travel Holiday Reviews: Natural Selection - June
2002
Samantha Berman describes for Travel Holiday's Reviews
section her experiences in Ecuador's Enchanted Isles aboard the M/S
Alta. Her eight day cruise was part of an eleven day
Galápagos Wildlife Odyssey, a trip
arranged by Southwind Adventures. |
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25 Trips of a Lifetime - March 2002
Section ten
of Outside Magazine's 25 Trips of a Lifetime is subtitled "Free Your
Soul on a Pilgrimage." Southwind's Highland Vistas
Trek, a combination of the Inca Trail with the Ausangate Circuit Extension,
is listed along with the classic pilgrimage routes of El Camino de Santiago in
Spain and Tibet's Mt. Kailas trek. |
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