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Comment Point of View
Several travel businesses donate a percentage of revenue or profits towards local or global development issues, as part of their corporate social responsibility. environments that allow people to immerse themselves in a unique way of giving back.
Various Giving Models Oftentimes when people (including the travel trade) hear the term Responsible Travel they assume that this means volunteer travel. Well, this isn’t the only way to be responsible or to be a ‘meaningful’ traveller. Here are a few examples of the different ways in which to ‘give back’, and make a difference to the places you (or your customers) travel to: u
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Service Trips
Typically, service trip participants team up with forest service rangers or park service personnel to restore wilderness areas, maintain trails, clean up trash and campsites, and remove non-native plants. Example is the Sierra Club, the oldest outfitter of environmentallyfriendly travel, with over 100 years of experience. Sierra Club provides opportunities to explore the world with other environmentally-conscious individuals on ‘adventures with a cause’.
Volunteer Travel (Voluntourism)
Volunteer travellers share their skills, knowledge and passion with others in foreign lands. In return, they experience unique cultures first hand, develop new friendships and realize personal fulfilment. They may be doctors, nurses, carpenters, teachers, business owners, or just individuals desirous of contributing towards a ‘good’ cause - perhaps build a school in Nepal, or work on an irrigation project in Asia. Non-profit organizations such as Globe Aware develop short-term volunteer programs in international
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Charity Travel
Some companies use charity travel as a fundraising vehicle to raise money for worthy causes. Typically an additional fundraising amount is asked to be raised over and above the actual trip expenses. Discover Adventure UK and Social Tours Nepal are examples of
organizations that organize such trips. u Percent of Proceeds Several travel businesses donate a percentage of revenue or profits towards local or global development issues, as part of their corporate social responsibility. Their travel clients feel good to be contributing, albeit indirectly, by dealing with such companies.
Meaningful Trip has formed partnerships with various non-profits & NGOs, and our tours lend support (in the form of a donation of 5% of proceeds) to global development issues such as: women’s empowerment, education, health, poverty-alleviation and social justice in the destinations or regions we serve. We also make a small donation to domestic charities such as Feeding America, tackling hunger and poverty in the USA. Operationally, Meaningful Trip banks at a small community bank, follows best practices and even uses a web host provider that is wind powered.