Costas christ biography

Costas Christ is Editor At Large for National Geographic Traveler and a member of the National Geographic Editorial Council.
Costas in this interview looks back at the beginnings of the ecotourism movement and shares his views on the future of responsible travel.
Costas Christ has always been a travel junkie.

•

Even before terms like ecotourism and sustainability became mainstream, there were committed individuals who were advocating for a fair and more responsible form of travel. One of those pioneers is Costas Christ.

An award-winning editor of National Geographic Traveler and founder of Beyond Green Travel, Costas in this interview looks back at the beginnings of the ecotourism movement and shares his views on the future of responsible travel. He also highlights the immense damage which the current travel restrictions are causing to conservation efforts and why we need to carefully balance calls for air travel restrictions with the benefits which tourism brings to many communities and livelihoods around the world.

Costas, as one of the world’s top sustainable travel experts, your work has taken you to more than 130 countries. Do you remember how you first got involved with sustainable tourism?

This question requires a bit of a journey to answer, so allow me to take you along. Growing up, I loved nature and my ambition was to become a wildlife biologist. I

•

The Ecotourism Champion: Costas Christ

Costas Christ has always been a travel junkie. He studied overseas in Guatemala, England, Kenya, and India while getting an international environmental studies degree from Friends World College (now called LIU global), and went on to become the regional director for Africa and Asia at the School of International Training, developing and organizing study abroad educational travel programs in those areas. In 1997, the White House appointed him the country director for the Peace Corps to help establish ecotourism in Uganda’s national parks after years of civil war. “I was already deeply involved with the ideas and concepts that would become sustainable tourism, and after the Peace Corps, I continued on this path,” Christ explains.

Beyond his role as editor at large and senior advisor for sustainable tourism at National Geographic Traveler, Christ founded sustainability tourism consulting firm Beyond Green Travel, which “advances the transformation of the travel industry as a force for good,” and serves as global sustainability strategist at Vi

•

Costas Christ is Editor At Large for National Geographic Traveler and a member of the National Geographic Editorial Council. His articles and essays have appeared in some of the world’s leading publications, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, and Sunday Times of London. He serves as Chairman of the National Geographic Travel World Legacy Awards, which honor the travel companies and destinations that are leading the way forward in helping to protect natural and cultural heritage. He has appeared as an expert to talk about travel trends and emerging destinations on Travel Channel, Good Morning America, CNN, BBC World, ABC News, National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Weekend and National Public Radio, among others. When not traveling, he lives on an organic farm in Maine.

How did you get started traveling?

Well, if you asked my mother, she would tell you that I had wanderlust since I was a child, always walking off to try and explore some place, such as the time when I was 5 years old and was found by the local police i