About Dawn Jorgensen
Dawn Bradnick Jorgensen is the incidental Tourist
Promoter of Ethical & Sustainable Journeys. Travel Writer. Beauty Seeker. Earth Advocate.
A self-proclaimed earth advocate and beauty seeker, as The Incidental Tourist I am a conscious traveller with a deep love for Africa, its people and the environment. My career has embraced all aspects of travel, including founding my own tour operating company, establishing this award-winning blog and sharing many a meaningful story as a freelance nature positive focussed travel journalist.
‘Conscious 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, here I share stories and photographs, accommodation reviews and discoveries from my international and local travels, as well as details of conservation campaigns that I passionately support.
From gorilla trekking in Uganda, tree planting in Zambia, turtle rescue in Kenya, and lingering in Lisbon. My focus remains on mindful and ethical tourism, something which see me actively promote sustainable travel choices that can be enjoyed without compromise.
‘Never underestimate the power of words – Dawn Jorgensen’
After more than a decade spent establishing my bespoke tour operating company, I founded The Incidental Tourist in 2010.
As a Travel Blogger, Digital Content Creator and Freelance Writer, I travel and write, work on numerous travel campaigns that filter through from my website to my social media channels, and collaborate with international and local tourism bodies, airlines, and online tour operators – always with a conscious and ecotourism focus.
My work naturally expanded to consulting on ethical and sustainable travel, social media strategy and content curation, conceiving and propagating websites, and writing blogs and newsletters for numerous companies on a freelance and retainer basis.
Throughout I continue to write for print and online magazines.
Travel Experience, 44 Countries to date with much focus on South Africa
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.
Next up in 2024 is Lisbon, Portugal followed by Tasmania.
Areas of Expertise and Professional Work Experience
Travel Writer. Website Curation. Marketing Strategist with a focus on ecotourism.
Digital Content Management, Social Media Curation & Management.
Magazine Travel Journalism. Travel Trend Research. Animal Rights Advocate.
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. Collaborating with a group of creatives to bring you Cape Town Legends, showcasing 22 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.
Author for ThailandSA blog and all published content and blog posts. (2016 to date)
Representation and Campaign Work
In my capacity as a The Incidental Tourist, I have worked with Swiss Airlines, South African Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Turkish Airlines, Switzerland Tourism, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Trafalgar Travel, Travel Corporation, Treadright Foundation and Reunion Island Tourism promoting their routes, offerings and philosophies as well as with numerous local DMO’s and PR Agencies including Rovos Rail, Manley Communications, Lesley Simpson Communications, Cheapflights UK, Five Star PR, Theresa Gibbons PR and many more.
Conservation, Activism And Volunteer Work
On an ongoing basis, I support an array of conservation and environmental bodies through my writing, campaign work, activism and volunteering to create awareness around the work they are doing. These include: Greenpop Reforestation, South Africa & Zambia | Blood Lions against the canned lion hunting | Four Paws, South Africa | Watuma Turtle Watch, Ocean Conservation in Kenya | Penguin Promises creating awareness around endangered African Penguins | Seals of Namibia against annual seal clubbing | Rhino and Elephant Conservation. Co-founder of the #AnimalRightsInTourism movement.
Awards and Accolades
– 10 Influential Voices Changing the Face of Tourism in South Africa by Treeshake, December 2023
– Top 25 Female Trailblazers in Africa Tourism & Hospitality by The Pyne Awards Africa, February 2023.
– Listed as 100 Most Powerful People in African Hospitality by International Hospitality Institute, September 2022
– Finalist Pyne Awards 2022 in the African Tourism Magazine/Blog’ of the Year category, September 2022
– ‘12 African Travel Bloggers That You Should Be Following’ by Fodor’s Travel 2022.
– Nominated by Woman&Home Magazine in their South Africa’s 40 over 40 Amazing Women Awards, 2020.
– Included in ‘The Wonder Women of African Travel’ by Travelhouseuk 2020.
– Included on Huffington Post’s list of ‘7 SA Travel Bloggers to Follow on Instagram’ 2019.
– Winner Cape Winelands District Municipality 6th Annual Mayoral Tourism discretionary award for individual achievement.
– Finalist: Africa Travel Blogs Award 2018.
– Host at the 2017 African Responsible Travel Awards with Better Tourism Africa.
– Listed Top 10 African Travel Blogs by Africa.com, 2018.
– Winner of the Travelstart Travel Writing competition with my piece: ‘Benin, My African Queen’.
– Listed Top 10 South African Travel Bloggers by VOLO.
– Listed Top 6 South African Travel Bloggers by Overland Tours.
Together with inclusions on numerous lists of travel writers to follo
“Travel. It leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller” Ibn Battuta
More About Dawn Bradnick Jorgensen
In 2010, after more than a decade of professionally designing dream holidays as well as taking many myself, I founded The Incidental Tourist with the express purpose of sharing my love for travel with others – and to heed a call to put thoughts to words.
This led to an established career as a writer and has evolved to include a sustainable living and environmental message that is prevalent across all my work. In my writing, I create a mix of content that will please those simply wanting to scroll through photographs and be inspired, and readers seeking detailed advice and guides on destinations that I have visited and recommend.
Beyond writing about travel, my areas of interest include conservation, ethical lifestyle, telling the stories of inspiring individuals changing the world, trend predictions, business marketing and communication through content creation and newsletters shared across various platforms and placing articles in print and online magazines.
When not travelling or writing, I can be found at home in Bloubergstrand outside Cape Town, where I delight in quiet time, do lots of yoga and am committed to daily oceanside walks with my dogs Sienna and Lucca. All the while choosing to live ethically and sustainably while remaining idealistic about the positive change that can be influenced in the world – ideally through words.
My mantra remains: Travel Better. Not Less.
Do approach me on dawn@theincidentaltourist.com for any additional information. Yours, Dawn x
