Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

Other international companies have concentrated their travelers’ philanthropy programs first in afew locations and then expanded gradually based on the lessons they learned in their pilotlocations. For example, Myths and Mountains runs tours in 17 countries in Asia, Southeast Asia,and South America, but its highly successful READ Global program has been, until recently,based solely in Nepal. Today, with a major grant from the Gates Foundations, READ Global’slibrary/community center model is expanding into India and Bhutan.Similarly, Country Walkers -- which specializes in small-group adventure and hiking tours inover 60 destinations worldwide -- launched its first travelers’ philanthropy project in 2003 in thesmall Andean village of Patacancha, Peru. The project has centered on a campaign to raisefunds from travelers to build a dormitory so that more local students would be able to attendschool as it is located too far from their homes for the young people to make the daily trip.Today Country Walkers has travelers’ philanthropy programs in Peru, Nepal, and Egypt where itis raising funds for projects selected by the host communities.While most travelers’ philanthropy programs involve initiatives by individual companies, two ofthe case studies here describe efforts to create destination-wide travelers’ philanthropyprograms. The International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) represents some50 tour operators, conservation groups, and others involved in tourism in the GalapagosIslands. This collaborative travelers’ philanthropy initiative includes most of the tour operatorsworking in the Galapagos. (One major operator, Lindblad Expeditions, runs its own highlysuccessful travelers’ philanthropy program in the Galapagos. This is described in “The Ask - Oris it the Offer”.) In Costa Rica, a new pilot project begun in 2010 is working to create adestination level travelers’ philanthropy program in Monteverde, a destination famous for itscloud forest and small scale ecotourism. This initiative, spearheaded by the MonteverdeInstitute and assisted by CREST, is workingwith tourism businesses to create a communalfund through which visitors can contribute toprojects that a community committee hasdesignated as priorities.The case studies demonstrate that companiesinvolved in travelers’ philanthropy span allprice points and types of travel, from budget tomid-range to high-end luxury. They offer avariety of types of travel from educational,cultural and historic to nature and wildlifeviewing, adventure and hiking, and urbanCheetah and tourists in Masai Mara, Kenya.Credit: William H. Durhamexperiences. What connects them all is theirshared dedication to improving both the placesthat their clients visit and the lives of the people who make their homes in the host communities.For example, RockResorts and Vail Resorts operate a range of budget to luxury facilities inColorado and other western states. These include ski resorts, golf courses, hotels, andcondominium properties. Rock and Vail resorts have developed a guest giving program and aguest volunteer vacation program, administered by and benefiting the National ForestFoundation (NFF) and its local programs. To date they have raised over $1.6 million to supporta range of local conservation projects.In The Gambia, a British university and its students raise funds each year to cover the cost ofinvolving Gambian students in field-study courses on sustainable tourism attended by the27