About Dawn Jorgensen
Dawn Bradnick Jorgensen is the incidental Tourist
‘Impact travel brings me closer to the things that matter, the people and how they’d like their stories told without compromise to the beautiful places that I find myself in.’
As a traveller with a deep love for the environment; on this award-winning blog, as well as in numerous print and online publications – I share stories and photographs, accommodation reviews and discoveries from my international and local travels, as well as details of conservation campaigns that I support.
From gorilla trekking in Uganda, tree planting in Zambia, turtle rescue in Kenya, crampon hiking in Patagonia and setting up a temporary home in Lisbon, my focus remains on sustainable tourism, as well as highlighting ways that we can enjoy this beautiful world without detriment.
Beyond this, my writing covers various topics from reporting live on the Cape2Rio yacht race, to lifestyle trend predictions and consulting on best sustainable travel practices.
Additional Professional Work Experience
- Consulting in Sustainable Marketing Strategies, Copywriting, Content Creation, Social Media and Tour Packages for numerous tourism companies across Southern and East Africa.
- I was appointed official media partner for the Cape2Rio Yacht Race 2020, covering all stories as they unfolded with the 22x crew’s departure from Cape Town, travelling to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to meet the boats and report with interviews and stories that focussed on the brave human factor of this iconic southern Atlantic Crossing.
- Cape Town Legends as Producer | Content Creation (2019). Collaborating with a group of creatives to bring you Cape Town Legends, showcasing 20 individuals in video, photos and words, as we learnt what drives them, and in turn, inspires us. My role was as producer, management, curation and website design.
- Author for ThailandSA blog and all published content and blog posts. (2016 to date)
Further Representation and Campaign Work
- Cape Town Chapter Leader for Global Movement Travel Massive. (April 2014 to end 2018)
- Founder member of African Bloggers Network, established to professionalise the blogging world.
- Speaker on Travel Blogging at the Indaba Travel Bloggers Conference in Durban in May 2015.
- Speaker at the eTourism Summit in Cape Town in September 2015.
- Speaker on The Use of Bloggers and Influencers at Sports Events at SETE2016 in October 2016.
- Speaker on Working with Bloggers and Influencers at Big Connect event in November 2017.
- Speaker and panellist at WTM Africa, April 2018.
- I am a regular guest on numerous radio stations and on the SABC3 TV Morning Expresso.
44 Countries Visited
South Africa. Botswana. Lesotho. Namibia. Zimbabwe. Zambia. Kenya. Tanzania. Rwanda. Uganda. Reunion. Mauritius. Mozambique. Madagascar. Benin. Cape Verde Islands. Italy. Belgium. France. Vatican City. England. Ireland. Switzerland. Turkey. Greece. Israel. The Netherlands. USA. Mexico. Argentina. Uruguay. Honduras. Singapore. Indonesia. Vietnam. Thailand. Germany. Ethiopia. Austria. Morocco. Portugal. Bosnia and Herzegovina. India. Brazil. Last travel destination: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Next travel destination: Hopefully, Portugal.“Travel. It leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller” Ibn Battuta
Awards and Accolades.
- Listed as one of South Africa’s Amazing Women Over 40 Awards finalists
- Interviewed for the Earth Chats Podcast on ‘Advocating for a Better World as The Incidental Tourist.’
- Included in The Wonder Women of African Travel by Travelhouseuk.
- Winner Cape Winelands District Municipality 6th Annual Mayoral Tourism Awards, a discretionary award for individual achievement in tourism (2017)
- Listed Top 5 Fantastic South African Blogs You Should be Following on Howl Mag
- Listed Top 10 Travel Bloggers Who Love to Visit Cape Town by Secret Cape Town.
- Included on Huffington Post’s list of ‘7 SA Travel Bloggers to Follow On Instagram’.
- Finalist: Africa Travel Blogs Award 2018.
- Interview on State of Digital Publishing about the evolution and growth of The Incidental Tourist since inception.
- Host at the 2017 African Responsible Travel Awards with Better Tourism Africa.
- Listed Top 10 South African Travel Bloggers to Follow on CometoCapeTown.com.
- Listed Top 10 African Travel Blogs by Africa.com
- Listed Best Travel Blog in Africa, Runner Up 2016, African Blogger Awards.
- SA Travel Bloggers Award. Winner Most Seasoned Traveller and Shortlisted in 3 Categories.
- Top 100 Travel Blogs for Serious Wanderlust by Asher Fergusson.
- Winner of the Travelstart Travel Writing competition with my piece on Benin – My African Queen.
- 7 fabulous female travel writers to follow.
- SA’s Top Female Travel Blogger by IOL.
- Africa Travel Blog 2018 Finalist.
- Listed Top 10 South African Travel Bloggers by VOLO.
- Listed Top 6 South African Travel Blogger by Overland Tours.
- Listed as Top Instagram influencer in South Africa by Talkwalker.
