CSR Peer Learning session #6: Volunteer Travel · WorldVentures Foundation And More! ... 2015,...
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CSR Peer Learning session #6: Volunteer Travel Trends and best practices October 13, 2016 Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel
Transcript of CSR Peer Learning session #6: Volunteer Travel · WorldVentures Foundation And More! ... 2015,...
CSR Peer Learning session #6: Volunteer Travel Trends and best practices
October 13, 2016 Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel
Watch, Listen and/or Download the Full Webinar
Agenda
• CSR Peer Learning Network overview • Survey data read-out • Introductions • The value of volunteer experiences • Demand for these experiences • Messaging and marketing • Questions!
Want to ask a question? Submit your question on the right hand side of your screen under ‘Q&A’, ask Chelas Poirier
Who is here?
Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy
Appleseed Expeditions Collette Vacations DH Enterprises Globus family of brands Goway Travel Grand Valley State
University Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority Lindblad Expeditions
MaCher National Philanthropic Trust National Tour Association NYC & Company New York University Sandals Foundation Starr Companies Viking Cruises Visit Oakland World Expeditions WorldVentures Foundation And More!
A CSR Peer Learning Network?
Purpose
Inspiration & camaraderie
Connections
Useful data nuggets
Practical tools & ideas
Set the stage for collaboration
If we did all the things we were
capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.
--Thomas A. Edison,
via Jessica Cook, VWT
Series I – a 6-session dive into travel CSR 1. Corporate Social Responsibility and Member Baseline (April 2, 2015, New York City) 2. Making a difference in Nepal and disaster giving: finding and supporting great projects (June 11, 2015, Los Angeles) 3. The CSR Communications Quandary: balancing storytelling, customer engagement and self-promotion while giving nobly (September 24, 2015 Boston) 4. To Give or Not to Give: engaging clients in funding projects (December 1, 2015, webinar + @ USTOA conference, Chicago) 5. Employee (& community) Love & Loyalty Through Volunteering (March, 2016, DC)
6. Volunteer Travel: Trends and best (Oct. 2016, New York City)
Some of today’s peer players…
John Yonce Tourism Cares
Jay Waltmunson, Volunteer Traveler
Alexia Nestora Director, Firefly Journeys
Ron Fenska VP of Sales, Fathom
Jonna Jackson CTC Sr. Director Product
Development, Classic Vacations
Classic expands its product portfolio to connect you and your clients to the best products and experiences around the world!
Classic Connections
Addressing relevant trends in the travel industry. Each of our “Classic Connections” partners will deliver: Exclusive offers for Your clients Experts to help You plan Your clients’ travel Competitive commission levels for You “Pass through credit” with Classic Vacations Classic’s Royalty Rewards points for You on value of booking
https://www.classicvacations.com/connections/me-we
Travel With Purpose
Impact and Debate
1. What do destinations/NGOs really get
out of these efforts?
2. How can we ensure we do good, and more good, and less or no harm?
“The best way that I found to measure what destinations got out of it, was bringing money to areas that might typically not get traditional tourist dollars. Some place that does not have a huge monument, some place that is off the beaten path . . . where local families will get money for a homestay,”
– Alexia Nestora, Firefly Journeys
“It’s really about changing a traveler’s way of life and learning and helping [the destination] do more with what they have available to them,”
– Jonna Jackson CTC, Classic Vacations
“To a certain degree it will harm if we are just going into a destination like the Dominican Republic and providing hand-downs. For us, that’s the harm.
We’re trying to help people from the educational and environmental side, more of an interaction, a learning aspect.
We’re more focused on giving from an emotional and person-to-person perspective,”
- Ron Fensk, Fathom
Consumer Demand
Who is this for and
what is the value to them?
“To teach a child social responsibility at an early age where they have the opportunity dip their toe into it, and to grow into something like that, is an essential part of raising kids,”
- Ron Fensk, Fathom
“A traditional voluntourism trip is 1-2 weeks in a developing country. From that perspective it’s always been about 50% are college kids or gap year kids, 25% families, 25% retires,”
– Alexia Nestora, Firefly Journeys
Messaging and Marketing
What have we learned about the market and how to reach them?
“About 50% of the voluntourism market is non-profit organizations and 50% is for-profit organizations and when comparing a non-profit’s offerings with a for profit’s offerings, travelers get very defensive once they realize you are for profit and they want to know where does the money go. It forces your hand in marketing to be very transparent about that”
– Jonna Jackson CTC, Classic Vacations
“The bigger challenge you run into with the short term stuff . . . pick a destination you go to in a small group or large group of people -- go into a village and they’re giving back, those people are leaving and they feel great about themselves but they leave. If you don’t have the consistency of going and helping those people, it does more harm for them. They’re wondering when the next group is coming back. It’s disruptive.”
- Ron Fensk, Fathom
3 other questions from your surveys
Where to start, in terms of finding opportunities to offer?
How do you make these experiences safe for
volunteers and the company? How to communicate what makes a volunteer
travel experience meaningful.
Where to start, in terms of finding opportunities to offer?
1: Zero in on how you really want to make a difference 2: Seek out trusted and effective organizations and projects 3: Make the right gift for you and the nonprofit
How do you make these experiences safe for volunteers and the company?
1. Insist on strong connections to the community by the organization sponsoring the project, and that projects are grounded in local need 2. Be sure the project is a good fit for you 3. Go with a tour operator who has volunteering as a regular part of their business, or with a specialist volunteer agency 4. Insist that any company you travel with makes a financial difference, too, and has a real partnership with local organizations 5. Be extremely cautious about projects that involve children
How to communicate what makes a volunteer travel experience meaningful.
Before the trip: try to gauge your client’s charitable interest as you begin planning their trip. - What draws the clients to this destination? - What kinds of causes are important to them now? - Do they have children and are they interested in engaging them? - Share the basics of being a responsible traveler and ask if there are special interests they would like to explore during this trip. Raise the question about volunteering. Follow up with the client after returning home After the trip, ask about their experiences as usual but include open-ended questions to “get the ball rolling” to see if there’s a nice opening to engage on giving back. Questions such as: - Were you excited about any sites, groups or people you met with? - Did you think something was really cool and you might want to learn more or stay involved with? - Do you feel you can do something about what excited or bothered you? - What seems to be the most pressing need in the destination?
Questions?
For the first time, travelers who want to make a difference will have access to hundreds of travel
agents certified in good travel giving!
www.goodtravelsadvisor.org
What comes next?
2017 = Launch of CSR Experts Group at Travels Big Give during National Travel and Tourism Week in Detroit, MI (May)
2017 . . . Tourism Cares for Our Cities
Team Sponsorship Opportunities Available Now!
Watch, Listen and/or Download the Full Webinar
www.TourismCares.org
John Yonce Director of Community Engagement
[email protected] 617.922.0076
Mike Rea
THANK YOU !
