TRAVEL WELL

“Simply put, if we don’t protect our natural environment, there will be no travel for us to enjoy in the future.”

The man behind Beautiful Destinations, Jeremy Jauncey, lives a postcard-perfect life on social media. But the true beauty of his mammoth travel community lies in its ethos of sustainability.

It’s safe to assume that anyone who is on Instagram and even remotely interested in travel has heard of, if not followed, Beautiful Destinations (@beautifuldestinations). One of the largest traveller communities on social media with 25 million people—across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok—forms the foundation of the full-service travel marketing and media company of the same name. And its founder and CEO—the young, fit, and handsome Jeremy Jauncey—is every bit the perfect ambassador for beautiful travel.

Travelling the world with his partner, former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, Jauncey lives a cloyingly perfect life on Instagram. But how did it all come about for the 36-year-old? By chance, as all good things do. “I left home at 17 to pursue a career in professional rugby in New Zealand. Growing up in Scotland, it (NZ) was about as far away from the UK as one could travel, and I connected through Singapore—a journey which changed my life forever and set me on the path for exploring a career in travel,” reveals Jauncey.

While his personal Instagram page looks like a series of cover shoots and wallpapers, the influencer is not just about looks and luxury. The reason Jauncey is so influential and here on our list of T+L Trailblazers is that he knows, and advocates for, the right way to travel. “Sustainable and regenerative travel are ways to enjoy the personal benefits of exploring the world, while ensuring [that] your investment of time, energy, and money goes into protecting the environments you are visiting and the economic benefits delivered to the host communities,” he says. So, which destinations are leading the way in sustainable travel? Rwanda, Iceland, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and Panama, says the well-travelled entrepreneur.

When you travel for a living, it can become tricky to choose one memorable experience. Jauncey’s pick is unique and unsurprisingly tethered to his ethos. “I was invited to name a baby gorilla at the Kwita Izina Celebration in Rwanda.

That opened my eyes to conservation-focussed travel, as the increase in baby gorillas born each year is used as a proxy for the success of their sustainable tourism industry.” His bucket list features Norway and Fiji, and “so much of India!”

With a passionate belief that travel is a force for good and a firm grip on the power and reach of visual storytelling, Jeremy Jauncey continues to inspire travellers to tread the planet softly.