Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

distinction. Both the premise and promise of travelers’ philanthropy is that it is a very selfish acton the part of the donor. As operators, we’re simply giving them a chance to serve their owninterests.• Making the Offer ─ Lessons from Two Studies on Traveler GivingOver the past decade, my own research hasshown how intrinsic the motivations of travelingphilanthropists can be. In two studiessponsored by Lindblad Expeditions (one inGalapagos and the other in Baja California), Iinterviewed 146 of Lindblad’s guests as thestarting point for designing what turned out tobe very successful communication strategiesfor two philanthropy campaigns. To design acompelling strategy I had to first determine (1)why Lindblad guests would choose to donate toa fund for local conservation or humanitarianefforts; (2) what would dissuade them fromdonating (their doubts, reservations, etc.); and(3) whether there were any normative influences (e.g., the perceived opinions of other people)that would influence their decision whether to donate. Following a well-established procedure forconducting such interviews (called “belief elicitations”), my discussions with guests were in freeresponseformat, meaning that the questions were open-ended and lists of alternative answerswere not provided for respondents simply to check off. Rather, they engaged in focusedconversation about each of the three topics. After a brief outline of the purpose of the study(which was “to learn from you about how Lindblad Expeditions might successfully promote theGalapagos Conservation Fund to future passengers suchas yourself”), I asked each guest three pairs of questions.1. What do think would be the advantages, benefits or goodconsequences that could result if someone like youdonated to this Fund?2. What do think would be the disadvantages or badconsequences that could result if someone like youdonated to this Fund?3. Are there any individuals or groups, whose opinionsabout such things actually matter to you that would approveor be in favor of your donating to this Fund? Who wouldthey be?Sam Ham surveying Lindblad passengers, Galapagos.Credit: Sam Ham4. Are there any individuals or groups, whose opinionsabout such things actually matter to you that woulddisapprove or not be in favor of your donating to this Fund?Who would they be?Tourists arrive to Galapagos Islands.Credit: David Krantz142