Vacationers Look to Mix Philanthropy With Luxury

December 10, 2007

Vacationers Look to Mix Philanthropy With Luxury

Tour operators are capitalizing on an increasing desire by wealthy vacationers to combine luxury travel with doing good works, reports The New York Times.

Ashley Isaacs Ganz, president of Artisans of Leisure, a luxury-tour company, says that the demand for such trips has risen by 15 percent over the last two years.

Participants travel to locales such as Cambodia, Kenya, and Vietnam to visit schools, hospitals, or wildlife centers.

Travelers also go on traditional sightseeing tours and safaris that may cost $300 to $1,000 a day, not including airfare.

The increased interest for philanthropically minded trips may be inspired by celebrities like Bono and Angelina Jolie, who promote international causes, the article says.

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Comments

Marc Gold was set on the path he now travels when he was just a child, when his father, photographer Albert Gold, explained “the meaning of life.” He took the 8-year-old into the bathroom and had him look in the mirror.

Gold recounts the conversation:

Albert: ‘‘What do you see?’
Marc: ‘I see myself.’
Albert: ‘Okay. How old will you be in 70 years?’
Marc: ’78.’
Albert: ‘Okay, when you are 78 years old, look in the mirror again and ask yourself one question, because by then your life will be almost over: ‘Did you live a life that made this a better world or not? Very simple. If the answer is yes, I am proud of you, and if not, I am disappointed.’
Marc: ‘But how am I going to make this a better world?’
Albert: ‘That’s your job. You figure it out.’

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— John Dec 10, 09:29 PM #

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