Opodo charts rise of ‘ethical tourism’

Saturday, 09 Mar, 2007 0

An increasing number of people are opting to use their holiday time for the purpose of “altruistic travel”, according to a new poll.

Research by online travel specialist Opodo shows a 67% rise in passengers taking its “meaningful travel” programmes over the last year.

Almost three quarters are female and one in ten are aged over 40, with one in three aged between 25 to 40.

This shows that the older generation are now more likely than ever to take up the opportunity of a career break in order to ‘give something back’, according to Opodo.

In partnership with volunteer travel specialists i-to-i, the company offers projects ranging from community work with children in Mombassa, to painting favellas in Rio de Janeiro and undertaking conservation projects in the UK.

Africa has proved the most popular continent with the conscientious traveller over the past year, with Kenya and South Africa topping the list of most visited destinations for Opodo’s meaningful travel projects in 2006. A substantial rise in the number of people taking on projects in Asia is predicted over the coming year.

The ‘Meaningful Travel’ section of the site offers more than 300 projects worldwide between one and 24 weeks long.

The site’s brand marketing manager Louise Turner said: “Whereas traditionally people have viewed their holidays as a time for relaxation, more and more of our customers are choosing to give something back to the countries they visit.

“We are entering a new era of ethical tourism and our decision to create this dedicated section of our site has been wholly vindicated.

“Traditionally, India and Sri Lanka have been popular but more unusual locations, such as Cambodia, The Philippines and even Tibet look set to draw in ethically minded tourists in 2007, all of which are destinations that Opodo now offers meaningful travel packages to.”

by Phil Davies

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Phil Davies

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