(NewsUSA) – When Rose Blondin, 19, chose her vacation destination last year, she opted for hiking boots and T-shirts rather than bikinis and shades.
Blondin, a sophomore at Boston’s Emmanuel College, decided to spend her time working on a trail project with American Hiking Society (AHS) in the Smokey Mountains. “I learned so much about the environment when I went on hikes with the park ranger,” said Blondin. “The trip was a lot of hard work, but if you have a good attitude, you can really have an awesome experience.”
Blondin is not alone in pursuing non-leisure activities during vacation. The Travel Industry Association of America first noted that “voluntourism” was becoming more popular in 2005. Today, the practice has become more mainstream. Travelocity.com, a travel-booking Web site, surveyed over 1,000 travelers, and 38 percent expressed an interest in voluntourism. Some travelers make voluntourism a way of life. Read the rest of this entry »
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