About Travelers’ Philanthropy
Click here to view CESD’s Travelers’ Philanthropy program website www.travelersphilanthropy.org
What is travelers’ philanthropy?
Over the last decade, an increasing number of tourism businesses around the world have, as part of their core mission, begun supporting community and conservation projects in the destinations where they work. By providing staff time, funds and other resources, tourism businesses are assisting schools, health clinics, orphanages, libraries, conservation research centers, parks and protected areas, and a wide range of other worthy projects.
Spearheaded originally by ecotourism businesses, today the number and types of businesses involved in community and conservation projects includes larger resorts, chain hotels, and airlines. And, increasingly, businesses are finding that travelers also want to learn about and provide assistance for projects that address critical social and environmental needs.
CESD’s Travelers’ Philanthropy Program
www.travelersphilanthropy.org
CESD’s Travelers’ Philanthropy program promotes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the travel industry, and encourages individual businesses and their travelers to give “time, talent, and treasure” to support social service and conservation projects in host communities. This is an increasingly important source of development assistance for communities located near tourism destinations.
Indeed, tourists who visit the developing world frequently wish to help the communities they see. 
Yet, it is often difficult to know whether their financial contributions or their expertise have a positive impact. It is also often difficult for tourists to obtain tax benefits from their donations. CESD’s Travelers’ Philanthropy program addresses these challenges through an international network of lodges, tourism operators, and other tourism businesses that connect potential donors to projects in the host countries. Travelers’ Philanthropy offers a vehicle for tourists to help address local needs by channeling their expertise and providing security and tax-deductibility to their donations.
CESD’s recently launched Travelers’ Philanthropy program includes the following tourism companies and lodges: Safari Ventures, Country Walkers, Jungle Bay Dominica, Nature Air, Holbrook Travel, and Rainforest Expeditions.
Read more about the above pilot projects at www.travelersphilanthropy.org
