The Adventure Travel Conservation Fund joins forces with artist Aria Luna to support sustainable tourism

Ecotourism communities around the world buoyed by alliance between art + adventure travel

San Francisco, CA (November 30, 2020) — The Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (ATCF) is joining forces with young Latina artist and artivist Aria Luna to raise funds to support ten ecotourism projects on five continents. Especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ecotourism sector is in urgent need of a lifeline—and it’s one that this alliance between an artist and an adventure travel conservation group is providing. Called Tourism Communities Who Support Conservation, the ATCF campaign kicks off on Giving Tuesday (December 1, 2020) and draws on the vast networks of ATCF’s members and partners to establish a fund that will support the communities responsible for the selected projects.

Aria Luna is donating several fine art prints and greeting card sets of her work to the campaign, including a hand-embellished Limited Edition print of her striking triptych “Quetzal.” The ten-year-old artist is no stranger to philanthropy and artivism—her very first exhibit, produced when she was just seven, raised funds for Latino communities impacted by the wildfires of Santa Rosa, California, in October 2017. Her traveling exhibit Fusion Tide, currently in San Francisco, has been opening visitors’ eyes and minds to the impact of plastic pollution in our oceans, since July 2018. 

The projects now open for funding are: 

• Threatened Species &  Indigenous Communities, Guyana
• From Mass Tourism to EcoTourism, Malaysia
• Responsible Dolphin Guiding to Support Livelihoods, India
• Regenerative Tourism in Sierra Norte, Mexico
• Reviving and Diversifying Tourism, Jordan

Many destinations worldwide depend on tourism as their primary source of income. With the significant halt in travel during 2020, communities are turning towards extractive jobs as an alternative to tourism, in order to put food on the table. This includes logging, mining, and wildlife trafficking, all of which will result in devastating long-term impacts on the travel destinations we love so much. 

But there is light at the end of this dark tunnel. International bookings for 2021 travel are looking incredibly positive, according to Euromonitor. By supporting these communities with this grant program, we will create a ripple effect in their destination, so that when travel does reopen, these communities and wild places are still standing in pristine condition, ready to receive visitors. 

“Conservation does not work without the people who help make it happen,” said Soraya Shattuck, ATCF Executive Director. “If our ecosystems collapse, it will impact us, the people. So if we can support a person’s livelihood through conservation and tourism, it’s a win-win. This program will help these vulnerable communities bridge the gap until tourism rebuilds.” 

“I feel honored that my art can help these communities,” said Aria Luna. “I love to travel, especially to tropical islands, mountains, and forests. I wasn’t able to travel at all during COVID, but I’m so glad I can help all the places I want to visit one day. It’s really important to keep these places beautiful and clean, and support the people who live there, because there’s no planet B.”

The Tourism Communities Who Support Conservation campaign runs through December 31, 2020.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Tourism Communities Who Support Conservation
https://adventuretravelconservationfund.org/conservation-in-communities 
or 
https://bit.ly/Conservation-in-Communities 

ABOUT ARIA LUNA
Aria Luna is one of the world’s youngest exhibiting artists and a changemaker who uses the power of her art to raise public awareness of environmental and social issues. She has been featured on NBC, Telemundo, the Cartoon Network, Moms.com, and other media. Her traveling exhibit Fusion Tide addresses plastic pollution in our oceans and has been displayed at Google, the Consulate of Colombia, the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the City of Mountain View, and other venues. Her first public art commission is a six-foot sea lion statue currently on display at Pier 39 in San Francisco. Her work has been exhibited internationally, sold to private collectors in the United States, and has raised funds for ocean conservation, art programs, and wildfire relief. Visit Aria Luna at www.arialuna.com or follow her on Instagram.

ABOUT ADVENTURE TRAVEL CONSERVATION FUND
At the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, we believe in the power of travel to protect and conserve. We believe that all travelers and the global travel community can become stewards for the planet. Founded by businesses in the adventure travel and outdoor industries, the ATCF is dedicated to protecting threatened communities, cultures, and wild places to preserve their cultural and recreational integrity. Visit the ATCF online at www.atconservationfund.org, Instagram or Facebook. 

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ATCF CONTACT
Soraya Shattuck, Executive Director
Adventure Travel Conservation Fund
soraya@atconservationfund.org

ARTIST REPRESENTATION
Birgitte Rasine
art@lucita.net
203.645.1475