Travel & Leisure Features Volunteer Vacations

Travel & Leisure just launched a slideshow of Great Humanitarian Trips Around the World – check it out at the link below.

See slideshow of Great Humanitarian Trips Around the World.

Yep, believe it or not, voluntourism is still a hot story!

ATWS – Why don’t volunteer providers attend?

As far as I know Earthwatch and PEPY Ride will be the only volunteer travel companies attending the Adventure Travel World Summit in Norway next week. I dont understand why more operators for the voluntourism industry dont attend.

The adventure and volunteer industries are on a course to collide and smart companies have been partnering to increase distribution and brand awareness, the ATWS is the perfect place to make these connections.

I’m not sure if its too late to sign up or not – but i’ll be sure to give an update on what happened as I’ll be there freezing my butt off while representing voluntourism.

New Mintel Report on Volunteer Tourism Available!

See the excerpt from the site below – its well worth the purchase and showcases key trends in the industry as well as key players.

View this link to order or get the full low down or order your copy.

“Driven by the desire to deeply understand and experience the place they are visiting, tourists are seeking more hands-on travel opportunities. Volunteer tourism, an emerging new trend, seeks to fulfil this desire to visit, experience and give back. Tourists seeking to provide a volunteer service as part of their holiday experience are part of a growing trend. In fact, industry statistics and media reports suggest that it is one of the most promising trends in travel.

However, the industry is struggling to brand itself. There are those who feel that short-term volunteer tourism trips do not really help the local destination. Others believe that even one day of volunteering paired with six days of surfing or sightseeing is better than not volunteering at all. Some industry veterans are concerned that with the surge of media coverage, the market may be flooded with new entrants that have failed to vet their projects sufficiently or want to make money through poorly planned, ill-conceived volunteer projects.

Emerging communication technology such as Web 2.0, social media and other information sources are especially prevalent among some volunteer tourism segments. Awareness of volunteer tourism opportunities continues to expand through viral marketing, social networks, grass roots communication and consumer to consumer information sharing. This is causing a shift in the way in which the traditional tourism consumer and provider interact.

Travel & Tourism Analyst is a bimonthly newsletter providing an examination of the travel industry, sector by sector. Each issue includes five objective and detailed studies on sectors and issues of interest and importance, across the international tourism industry.

Transport – from air transport and car hire, to the cruise industry, rail and coach travel

Outbound Markets – detailed profiles of the world’s leading tourism origin countries

Market Segments – key sectors of the travel and tourism industry, ie youth travel

Accommodation, Leisure and Theme Parks – the performance of the hotel industry, resorts, timeshare, as well as developments in the attractions market

Travel Distribution and Technology – the travel trade worldwide, including the impact of new technology on travel distribution and marketing

Financial Services – ranging from tourism investment to paying for travel

Occasional Studies – other significant issues, such as the role of tourism organisations and the impact of travel on the environment.”

WSJ covers Volunteer Travel

In case you missed it – June 2008 the WSJ covered volunteer travel, have a look at the story here.

Smart Money and Domino are also coming out with articles in December and Better Homes & Gardens will have one in February.

Thoughts on the Volunteer Travel Industry

Some folks say that volunteer travel is just a trend that will fade as fast as it came, I dont think so. Voluntourism, volunteer travel, volunteer vacation – whatever you want to call it, is here to stay. Travelers are tired of the all inclusive beach getaway and the up and coming Millenial generation is demanding more from their life, they wont settle for Disney land – they want to experience a culture when they travel and give back in a meaningful way.

So here’s a blog devoted to voluntourism – hopefully it will be around as long as the industry!