We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Priscilla Horta. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Priscilla below.
Priscilla, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Long before I ran tours as a business, I have always been drawn to the natural world. That curiosity took me across continents to observe wildlife and explore ecosystems most people only read about. But the more I traveled, the more I understood something essential: there is no wildlife conservation without first caring about the people. The communities who live closest to the animals we love most are the true guardians of those ecosystems. Supporting them is just as important as protecting the species themselves. That realization changed everything for me.
Mundial Eco Tours was born from the belief that meaningful travel should uplift both nature and the people who depend on it. The ones benefiting from tourism should be the locals who live there, not corporations who built a hotel there merely for profit. My purpose isn’t just guiding trips, it’s to build lasting bridges. Creating experiences that inspire travelers while directly supporting local families, small businesses, and conservation partners. When we invest in the local communities we are investing in the future of both the people and wildlife in that region. When travelers get to witness that impact firsthand, something powerful shifts inside them. It’s a shift that lasts long after the trip ends… that is when I feel most aligned with what I’m meant to be doing.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m the founder and guide behind Mundial Eco Tours, a boutique travel company dedicated to meaningful travel experiences around the world. What makes my work so special is that it sits at the intersection of everything I love: wildlife, culture, and human connection. Every trip is designed to go way beyond just sightseeing… I want people to truly feel a place and to walk away changed in some way.
One of the things I’m most proud of is the balance I’ve created in my trips. For a long time, I thought I had to choose between wildlife-focused travel and cultural-immersive travel… but I’ve realized my strength is being able to appeal to both. Some of my destinations are built around nature and others highlight the culture: ancestral traditions, food, music, and community life. Even on my city-based itineraries, I always try to carve out time to step away from the concrete and into nature, even if it’s just for a day. I want my travelers to experience the lesser-visited corners that most tourists miss.
Right now, my biggest focus is expanding my reach to new travelers. I’m at a point in my career where I want more people to know that this kind of travel exists. I’ve been non-stop for the last few years connecting with new audiences and opening the doors for people who have always wanted to travel but don’t know where to start or were nervous to go alone.
The past few years have been life-changing. I’m stepping into destinations I used to dream about! I’ve added so many new itineraries and there are so many new destinations on the horizon. It feels like every year my world expands a little more, and I get to bring my clients along for the adventure. At its core, Mundial Eco Tours is about connection. Connecting people to nature, to culture, and to each other… that’s what keeps this work exciting, year after year.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Deep respect for people and place.
Travel will humble you if you let it. One of the most important qualities I’ve carried with me is showing up with respect. Whether I’m in a remote community or a huge city, I remind myself that I’m a guest. Their customs, their food, their music, their way of life deserve to be honored, even if it might be different from what I’m used to. Respect opens doors that attitude never will. It allows you to form real human connections instead of just passing through a place. This is something I try to remind my guests when they are on my trips as well.
2. Adaptability! Travel is unpredictable and being able to go with the flow is a superpower. If I let every inconvenience or misunderstanding ruin my day, I wouldn’t last a week in this line of work. Navigating other countries alone, messing up languages, getting lost, even the occasional scam, it’s all part of the education that no book can teach you. Some of my closest friendships and most beautiful discoveries happened because something didn’t go according to plan.
3. Relentless curiosity. Curiosity is what keeps me from ever getting bored or burnt out. Every time I visit a country, I leave with twice as many ideas as when I arrived. A new region I didn’t know about, a story from a local, a rare animal I never heard of… all of it lights a fire in me. I’m always thinking about how to make the next trip more meaningful and more intentional. Curiosity is the spark that keeps me moving.
My advice for anyone at the beginning of their journey in travel: Respect the people whose lands you’re visiting, stay flexible when things go sideways, and never stop being curious. If you can commit to those three things, the world will teach you more than you ever imagined.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Some of my earliest memories are of sitting next to my dad on the couch and watching nature documentaries. Steve Irwin, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, every David Attenborough special ever made, and anything that aired on NatGeo, BBC, or Discovery Channel. Those shows cracked my world open. I remember staring at the screen mesmerized by these far-away places and telling myself that one day I would be there.
I am the proud daughter of immigrant parents and they both worked incredibly hard to raise my sister and I. But somehow they always found a way to feed that spark. With the little we had, I remember them taking me to museums and zoos to learn as much as I could. The first time I tried scuba diving was in Mexico in my early teens and fell in love with the ocean. A few years later, I took my first few big paychecks from work and got scuba certified at 16 years old.
Fast-forward to the moment I dropped out of college to work at a wildlife sanctuary… a plot twist no parent hopes for. We argued and definitely didn’t see eye to eye. But as I found my way, they never stopped showing up. Today, they’re two of my biggest supporters. They’ve traveled with me, seen the work I do, and witnessed the impact these trips can have. Watching them see it with their own eyes… that’s been one of the greatest full-circle moments of my life.
The most impactful thing my parents ever did for me was simple but life changing: they nurtured my curiosity… even when it led me far off the path they imagined.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mundialecotours.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mundial_tours/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Mundial-Eco-Tours-100090338252306/
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