Travel for good karma - Voluntourism

The focus of vacationing has changed over the years, from '10 must-see places' to '10 less-known places'. Young travellers especially seem keen to have profound travel experiences. And this has popularised 'travel for cause', also called voluntourism.

Voluntourism, is volunteering for a community or for a cause, while vacationing. Simply put, it's a combination of volunteering and travelling. "I have observed that young people want to travel as well as give back to the society. For last few years, people have moved away from the typical touristy travelling and want to get involved in some activities while they travel," says Subhash Motwani, Director of Namaste Tourism, a Mumbai-based travel company.

Echoing this is a survey report released last month by Cox and Kings, which was based on the responses of 5,000 respondents aged between ages 20 and 35 across Indian cities. The report highlighted that voluntourism as an emerging trend of travel is a big hit. About 92% of young Indians expressed interest in cause-based trips.

When 22-year-old Gujarat-based engineer Krunal Jajal set out on his Himalaya trips, he wanted to stay away from the beaten path. "I wanted my trips to be more meaningful and I also wanted to live with the locals and experience their lifestyle. So I decided to volunteer at a school in a remote village called Shyalna (Uttarakhand) and taught the students there English and Maths," says Jajal, who also cleaned up the mountain trails where he trekked with an NGO.

But what motivates one to spend the precious leaves toiling it out for a cause, instead of sunbathing at an exotic location? "I think living in cities is easy. We have a comfortable and convenient life. So if you don't do this kind of thing, it really disconnects you with reality," opines 27-year-old Aditi Padiyar. This Delhi-based communications professional has, on few occasions, taken travel breaks from her job to volunteer with NGOs in Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Ladakh, while exploring these terrains. For voluntourists, experiencing communities, staying with them and knowing their problems is paramount. Such experiences toughens a person, and gives them a richer takeaway from a holiday.

"When you go to remote places to volunteer, it gives a lot of understanding about people who aren't living in an urban set-up," says Mumbai-based Akshay Chuttar, who was a voluntourist with Waste Warriors near Corbett National Park sometime back. "In cities, we are so hard on each other, but people there were just so sweet and helpful," says the 31-year-old Private Equity Professional, who is scheduled to be a voluntourist again this year.

Looking at life from the perspective of people, who have lesser resources than most city dwellers, makes you value what you have. "I think I am a lot more appreciative about the things that I have in my life. It has toughened me," Padiyar says sagely. Overall reshaping travel plans and earning some good karma along the way does sound like a good idea. Doesn’t it?