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THINGS TO DO
Trends:
Luxury
Voluntourism
Ilona Kauremszky discovers luxury voluntourism:
high-end holidays that inspire hope
Whether it’s the call of the Serengeti
with its primal wilderness, the restoration
of a watershed refuge on Maui’s lush
mountain ridges or a coastal setting
in the Caribbean, where throngs of
endangered female hawksbill turtles
return to their nesting ground, locals
are welcoming like-minded tourists
who wish to give back and help
rebuild communities.
The idea of ‘voluntourism,’ in which
travellers volunteer their vacation
time toward worthy causes, has been
a popular pastime, but in the past
year voluntourism has extended into
luxury vacations. Voluntourism travel
expert David Clemmons, founder
of the non-profit organization
Voluntourism.org, suggests there are
two main causes: current economic
conditions and a number of big-name
celebrities participating in charitable
causes. “Extremely wealthy individuals
like Bono, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt,
Sir Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
and Bill Gates are putting humongous
sums of money into social causes,”
he says. That’s translating into a
‘consumer consciousness’ around social
responsibility, he adds, “and a movement
within the luxury market to [create]
social purpose within their offerings.”
Luxury hotel chains and tour
operators are putting community
consciousness front and centre, with
many including philanthropic travel on
their trip menu. In New Orleans, for
example, Pitt’s work to rebuild the city
after Hurricane Katrina has helped draw
a wide range of volunteers – including
luxury hotel guests. The Marriott and
Renaissance hotel chain in New Orleans
is inviting guests to sign up for hands-on
community involvement. Its Big Easy
Spirit to Serve Voluntourism Getaway
allows guests to join the local chapter of
Habitat for Humanity to spend a day
rebuilding a home in the Musicians’
Village in the city’s Upper Ninth Ward.
Likewise, guests of Fairmont Hotels
and Resorts can sign up for Community
Conscious Vacations, a program
currently available at 15 of the luxury
hotel properties. “The impetus behind
developing Community Conscious
Vacations was the understanding that
many guests share our commitment
to the community and planet and are
looking for ways to volunteer or take
part in something that truly makes a
difference,” explains Mike Taylor, public
relations manager for Fairmont Hotels
and Resorts.
In Winnipeg, the Fairmont Winnipeg
offers a Home Sweet Home package
that has its guests work on a house for
the local Habitat for Humanity. Candice
Craig, a police officer from Regina,
has no regrets about signing up for a
Habitat for Humanity build. “I’ll never
forget walking into the lobby of the
Fairmont wearing my hard hat and
steel-toed boots, in stark contrast to
my surroundings. I had the privilege of
putting my hands to work for a family in
need who had suffered things I will likely
never have to experience. It’s hard to
explain the effect being involved in such a
project has had on me. I came home tired
and sore but at the same time feeling a
great sense of elation and satisfaction,”
Craig says of her stay. She has since
participated in two other Habitat for
Humanity builds and plans to take
part in future projects.
These hotels are meeting a new and
clear customer demand. “If you want to
maintain your relationship with your
consumers, which is what the luxury
market relies upon,” Clemmons says,
“then it is imperative to develop products
and services with a social purpose.”
Abercrombie & Kent, a luxury travel
company, incorporates social projects
with its program called Philanthropic
Journeys, a series of trips in which
participants play a hands-on role in
communities, working on-site at projects
that benefit the people as well as the
environment. “We place great importance
on enabling guests to become personally
involved in the lives of the people they
meet. These experiences – which bridge
vastly different cultures – are usually the
first stories our guests share when they
return home,” says Jorie Butler Kent,
vice chair of Abercrombie & Kent.
For guests interested in more in-depth
philanthropic experiences, Abercrombie
& Kent Philanthropy (AKP) has designed
journeys focused on conservation –
cultural and ecological – and humanitarian
efforts. So now high-end holidayers can
replant endangered Bermuda cedars
in Bermuda, help restore turtle habitats
in Mexico or take a guided kayaking
excursion through Puget Sound while
learning about local waterways
and sustainability.
That’s luxury with a soul. nV
66 ENSEMBLE VACATIONS FALL 2009