What is Voluntourism?

It is tourism in which travellers take part in local community work as volunteers, to make a difference in a community as part of a vacation package.

It is a new way of travelling and is becoming increasingly popular around the world.

Unlike eco-tourism, voluntourism is aimed at helping other people rather than helping the environment. Voluntourism involves tourists going on vacation or rather, missions to help out on a particular project.

This volunteer work overseas includes not only the duties as a volunteer, but also gives a chance for tourists to discover new places and immerse themselves in a foreign culture.  The time spent becomes an exciting and fulfilling vacation as you are able to experience another world while helping out. 

This type of voluntary work overseas is very different from the typical idea of a “relaxing” or “sightseeing” vacation which is in fact very artificial and does not allow you to really engage with the people in the country you are visiting and to form relationships with them.

I set sail from Miami on Sunday on the inaugural cruise to the Dominican Republic with Fathom.org.

Once there we can opt into various ‘impact’ activities ranging from planting trees to spending time in a local school practicing English with the students.   

It will be a very different experience for me,  one which I am very excited about and look forward to sharing. 

About Fathom

The company is the brainchild of Tara Russell, who in 2013 suggested to long-time friend and Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald that voluntourism could offer great potential in the cruise space. Donald agreed and persuaded Russell to take on the venture as president of Fathom, under the Carnival Corp. umbrella. Fathom will sail to the Dominican Republic and Cuba. The Fathom team worked with the government and non-profit organizations in the Dominican Republic to identify the greatest needs and determine how the passengers would be able to contribute. In June 2015, Fathom officially was introduced to the world, and in April 2016, it will sail its first cruises.

The company aims to have a positive impact on three areas: economic development, education and the environment. Passengers work side by side with residents on tasks such as cultivating cacao plants or teaching English.

While other lines offer volunteer excursions, Fathom is the only cruise line that will sail full volunteer cruises year-round. The line will sail seven-night cruises departing from Miami and spending three to four days in Amber Cove, a port located on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Fathom will alternate itineraries between the Dominican Republic and Cuba, where it will operate under the U.S.'s people-to-people guidelines

Fathom doesn't call itself a "cruise line," but rather a "social impact travel" company because it offers a "radically different onboard and shore experience" than what is offered by any other cruise line.