Max Oliva, Associate Director of IE’s Social Impact Management

Travelocity is looking at making Voluntourism mainstream as Part of ”Travel for Good” Initiative. They are inviting consumers to join employee volunteers on National Public Lands Day September 30 as the First Step in its Far-Reaching Program.
They’ve recently launched their Go Zero program to help customers reverse climate change and enhance forests and wetlands through forestation programs. Now, under the Travel For Good initiative, Travelocity is kicking off a program called Change Ambassadors to help bring the idea of “voluntourism” to a broader, mainstream audience. In a 2006 Travel Forecast poll they conducted, 15 percent of respondents said they planned on taking a volunteer, education or religious trip this year.
It is not only them who are taking part on this endevor. Lonely Planet has their very own Sustainable Travel & Responsible Tourism (START), having together with Rough Guides through Climate Care, a carbon neutral initiative.

Another initiative was brought to me through the PSD Blog in regards to the Worldhotel-link.com, which connects travellers and accommodation providers via locally-owned and operated e-marketplaces.
According to The Transnational, Two-thirds of 90 British companies polled by the Institute of Travel Management have implemented corporate social responsibility programs.
Be it for CO2 emissions, responsible tourism, making it easy for volunteers to find opportunities to spend part of their next vacation volunteering, it seems that there is a big market which is about to reach its tipping point. Are you willing to be one of the early movers on this arena?

Know more of Voluntourism and other responsible travel initiatives.


Thanks to Gustavo Martinie and Antonio Lopez who shared this through the Tourism & Leisure Forum at Global Communities.