Volunteer vacations
Africa, East Asia and South America are the top desired travel destinations for Americans interested in volunteer opportunities and global volunteer service, according to a UC San Diego poll of more than 1,400 adults.
About 40 percent of Americans say they’re willing to spend several weeks on volunteer vacations that involve volunteer opportunities, with another 13 percent desiring to spend an entire year. But where volunteers want to go and how long they want to stay is linked to which generation they belong.
People are looking to spend their vacations and retirement in meaningful ways that make contributions school children, families and people in poverty were their top interest.
To gain deeper insight into the initial survey of 1,000 adults, UC San Diego conducted an online survey of 433 adults ranging in age from teens to retirees.
About 45 percent of Americans have considered volunteer vacations for themselves and 72 percent said they know someone who has been a global volunteer.
Benson helped start the Center for Global Volunteer Service because UC San Diego Extension saw a need for more collaborative grass-root approaches that match U.S. citizens of all ages with volunteer opportunities. Benson has firsthand experience with global voluntourism. In the late 1990s, he spent two years in the Peace Corps building greenhouse gardens next to village schools in the Andes of Bolivia.
UC San Diego is one of the nation’s most accomplished research universities, widely acknowledged for its local impact, national influence and global reach.
May 4, 2008
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