Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown/Yankelovich travel consulting firm reports that the category of ?volunteer vacations? is gaining in numbers. The company reports that while the overwhelming majority of Americans will spend time with friends or family, or enjoy some long-overdue rest and relaxation vacations, a growing number of Americans are using their vacation time to help less fortunate people or support a humanitarian cause. The YPBY National Leisure Travel Monitor? is now measuring this emerging trend and the results have been ?quite remarkable? ? or a full 6% of active leisure travelers. ?When extrapolated to the population of all active leisure travelers in America, this represents an impressive number of vacations?and vacationers.?
YPBY explains: ?So what?s driving this elevated sense of obligation on the part of time-impoverished Americans? The answer is growing social activism and a corresponding belief that the actions of just one person can, in fact, make a real difference to those in need.?
According to the bulletin, there are now over 150 organizations that facilitate such vacations, and several of these work in the Dominican Republic.
YPBY points out that the typical American adult will take four vacations in a year, and one of these now may well be a volunteer vacation.
Business Week reported on the emerging trend in June 2006 and used the Dominican Republic vacations as an example.
See http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jun2006/pi20060629_151648.htm