Stefan Caiafa
“Travel is in my blood,” says Stefan Caiafa, who has visited more than 60 countries and speaks five languages. Caiafa, who grew up in Brasilia, landed his dream job at National Geographic Traveler magazine after graduating from Parsons with a BFA in Photography.
“Since I also studied communication design,” explains Caiafa, “I had the skills needed to develop and revamp merchandise and product catalogs and to work on the Web.” Caiafa’s experience with National Geographic became his passport to the field of sustainable tourism. He subsequently used his creative and communication design skills while consulting on sustainable tourism projects for the United Nations Foundation, Expedia, Inc., the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme. He also took courses at the London School of Economics and now plans to work in international development.
“Countries need help to ensure that their cultures and communities aren’t destroyed by the influx of tourism,” says Caiafa. A visitor to nearly 70 World Heritage Sites, Caiafa describes them as “monuments to our humanity and presence on the planet.”