Social Responsibility

A new kind of volunteer tourism has entered the travel industry with an innovative approach; Volungearing, conceived by TribesForGOOD, taps an individual’s skills to pair him or her successfully in the social impact sector.

Dharavi, in central Mumbai, is considered one of the largest slums in Asia, but deep within this neighborhood, below the shanty grey roofs, loosely comprised of scavenged, upcycled metal, lives a resourceful and innovative community that plays an imperative role in Mumbai’s city-wide waste management.

Lush rainforest and land transformed for millions of years by volcanic activity, all spread across 520 square miles of protected space. Welcome to Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park!

In the last century, Thailand has lost roughly 92 percent of its elephant population.

Breckenridge, Colorado, best known for its world-famous ski resort, had a plastics problem. Every year visitors flock to this charming historic mining town to enjoy schussing and sledding down the slopes. What do they leave behind? Sleds.

Do you believe in ghosts or vampires? On today’s show you’ll meet two people that do—a paranormal photographer and a writer who traveled along dracula’s trail.

Our trip could be labeled volunteering since the primary purpose of the trip was to serve. “Voluntourism” - tourist travel with a volunteering component - has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to make travel more meaningful and give back to the places visited. 

If you were to hear that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans (by weight) than there will be fish, would you be alarmed? I definitely was alarmed when I read white paper about the plastic economy projected by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

More and more of us are becoming aware of the impact our carbon footprint has on the globe and are already taking steps to limit this.

The Golden Triangle region of Northern Thailand sits at the intersection of three Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong and Ruak Rivers: Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. A visit to this area is an incredible way to learn about the culture, history, and traditional arts of the region, which have been created over centuries by talented artisans and craftsmen.

Who doesn't love to be spoiled by airline amenity kits? It's a perk of upper-class travel to receive those little goodie bags filled with silk eye masks, rich hand lotion, lip balm, and maybe even a pair of pajamas. Sometimes the kits themselves are keepsakes, with brand name designers crafting handsome purses and pouches that can be repurposed after the flight. 

Over four years in the early 1970s, Cambodia, a Southeast Asian country now frequented by backpacking tourists, faced one of the worst human atrocities imaginable-- a state-sponsored genocide wiping out one-third of the nation’s population.