MEET OUR
PEOPLE & PARTNERS
ABOUT US
With decades of practical experience in nature tourism around the world, we bring the best tourism planners, investors, financiers, trainers, story tellers and promoters together to build successful and sustainable tourism destinations.
Our people include:
Simon grew up in wildlife parks in England and the U.S. and has 20 years of nature tourism experiences. Simon co-founded Solimar International, a tourism planning and development firm, and has worked with businesses, governments, destinations, parks & protected areas and NGOs in diverse countries and cultures around the world. He has a Masters of Tourism & Sustainable Destination Management from The George Washington University School of Business.
Simon Jones
As a recent graduate with a MA in Hospitality & Tourism, Lily Herbert blends a decade of hospitality experience with years of academic research for our international tourism development projects. Guided by a service-heart ethos and a passion for sustainability, Lily approaches tourism development with a dedication to community engagement and environmental conservation. As a Project Specialist at Naturescapes, she channels this commitment to drive impactful and innovative solutions within the tourism industry.
Lily Herbert
Neil has worked in nature and adventure travel for over 20 years, including co-founding the multi-award winning tour company Wilderness Scotland which was twice recognised as the World’s Best Green Tour Operator. Originally an environmental lawyer, Neil has lead the tourism and protected area business planning functions of our partner firm, Conservation Capital, for the past decade and has served as a non-executive Director of several nature conservation organizations.
Neil Birnie
Jesarela Is a Honduran native with a passion for multicultural tourism. Her Degree in Hospitality and Tourism from Appalachian State University helped her gain more than seven years of customer service experience. Jesarela supported various citywide events and programming for the Convention and Visitors Bureau Center in Durham, North Carolina. Her passion and experience has guided her to be with NatureScapes as their UPLIFT Program Coordinator.
Jesarela Valle
Milena is a specialist in behavioral economics, with a passion for using knowledge about human psychology to understand the root behaviors influencing the travel industry. She is the author of the first book on behavioural thinking for the travel industry and the founder of a boutique consultancy supporting businesses and destinations in applying behavior-smart innovations.
Milena Nikolova
Carol Kline is a Professor and the Director of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program at Appalachian State University. She founded the NC Tourism Extension Program in 2000 and has worked with rural communities in NC and beyond for over 20 years. Her research interests have historically focused on topics relevant to rural communities, such as foodie segmentation, craft beverages, agritourism, cultural and heritage tourism, ecotourism, and tourism entrepreneurship, however now it solely focuses on animal ethics.
Carol Kline
Our partners include:
 Conservation Capital develops innovative financial and business driven solutions to support the world’s most important conservation areas. |  Translating human behavior to shape marketing and communication strategies as well as influence traveler decision making in a destination. |  Sustainable tourism development, training and marketing solutions for destinations |
|---|---|---|
 A group of conservation focused investors with an interest in investments in businesses within natural landscapes |