Re-Visiting Luxury VolunTourism
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Hi David,
Right now I am in need of some quick quotes for a story I am covering for The Globe and Mail and am seeking your input.
Here are the Qs:
1. What is luxury voluntourism?
2. Why is luxury voluntourism taking off now?
3. What cultural factors are driving this trend?
4. What economic factors are driving this trend?
Thanks very much.
I value your opinion and look forward to hearing from you.
I.K.
Dear I.K.,
Thank you for your email. To your questions…
Q1: What is luxury voluntourism?
Answer: Luxury voluntourism is luxury-based travel & tourism experiences/itineraries that incorporate a portion of time dedicated to voluntary service in a destination or destinations.
The “luxury” aspect of voluntourism has much more to do with the clientele and/or the provider of the service. If it is a tour operator that services the luxury market, then you are creating “luxury” voluntourism. If it is a hotelier that services the luxury market, then you are creating “luxury” voluntourism.
From the voluntourism side, what is most noticeable about these experiences is the amount of time dedicated to voluntary service. Typically, these engagements will be a half-day, full-day, or, in some cases, but likely very few, multi-day offerings. These itineraries will feature a much greater portion of travel & tourism elements.
However, what you may also find is that the organizers of the experiences will have selected particular causes or issues for the luxury voluntourists to address. The vetting process will also be intense as luxury operators and suppliers realize that client expectations will be extremely high. This may result in some extremely unique opportunities, inspired by personal connections and relationships of employees and executives (the “internal-trust factor”) with local grassroots organizations, or a proliferation of projects with the “tried and true” NGOs – those with recognizable brands and strong reputations in the market.
Q2: Why is luxury voluntourism taking off right now?
Answer: In my opinion, the role of The Ritz Carlton Company, LLC and Conde Nast Traveler Magazine must be recognized in this space. The Ritz Carlton launched their “Give Back Getaway” program in April and the May issue of Conde Nast Traveler had an entire section dedicated to voluntourism. Conde Nast Traveler also offered a “Give Back Getaway” as part of a contest for past voluntourists to share their stories.
Over the Summer, Fairmont Hotels launched a voluntourism initiative of its own; and the combination of all of these luxury brands embracing voluntourism seems to be having ripple effects across the entire luxury segment.
Q3: What cultural factors are driving this trend?
Answer: We seem to be moving away from “white-collar” philanthropy and more to “blue-collar” philanthropy, even in the luxury market. It is a culture in which people want to see, experience, and enhance, through their own person-power, what their money is doing firsthand; this is a dramatic shift. Because NGOs are not entirely immune to corruption, greed, and other ne’er-do-welling, individuals want to follow the trail and see for themselves, but the cultural shift, if you will, is a consciousness shift – - people believe that it is important to directly connect with programs and people.
There may also be a psycho-social element involved here. Although this is not my area of expertise, I do think that there is a heightened sense of awareness of the challenges facing many individuals around the world in relation to the current economic situation; the United Nations is halfway to 2015 and a hopeful achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; and you have high-profile and/or extremely wealthy individuals like Bono, Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates putting humongous sums of money into social causes. This, I think, is translating into an enhanced consumer consciousness and, subsequently, a movement within the luxury market to connect social purpose within their product & service offerings.
Societal peer pressure within the luxury market, I believe, is also finding its way into the family. Children of the wealthy are putting pressure on their parents to become more “actively” involved, to join them in voluntourism experiences. This will be a trend to follow in the years ahead.
Q4: What economic factors are driving this trend?
Answer: For those who reside in marketing departments for travel & tourism entities, sustainability, responsibility, triple & quadruple bottom-line are all becoming more than just part of the promotional vernacular. Companies are being held accountable by their consumers. If you want to maintain your relationship with your consumers, which is what the luxury market relies upon (perhaps more so than any other segment), then it is imperative to be developing products and services with a social purpose.
But the HR department is also realizing that the costs involved in employee recruitment and retention represent a considerable sum each year. If you want the brightest and the best people on your team, which will ultimately impact the bottom line, you must consider the importance of being a socially responsible company. Voluntourism fits very well with socially conscious employees and with supporting retention efforts.
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