i-to-i, which offers volunteer vacations in 30 countries, released its sales figures for March 2009 and has posted a year-on-year revenue increase of 28 percent. The company states that the increase in job loss and an increasing number of graduates looking to volunteer before joining the work force are playing significant factors in the boost to volunteer tourism. i-to-i also credits the increase in revenue with travelers' need to find value in their vacations. If a traveler is going to spend money on taking a vacation during these tough economic times, it appears that travelers want to be sure that their experience is meaningful.
"The recession has encouraged many people to volunteer and take some time away from all of the bad news," said Jeff Krida, director of i-to-i North America. "What we have seen is an increase in shorter volunteer trips in locations that are closer to home for Americans such as Latin America. Building projects in Latin America and Africa have seen an increase in participation numbers while teaching in Asia is seeing a rapid decrease in interest."
There has been a distinct increase in travelers between the ages of 22 and 30 who want to volunteer abroad. This generation is also proving to be more web-savvy than their predecessors. The majority of travelers are finding i-to-i's volunteer programs online, placing heavy emphasis on Google searches as well as travel sites such as GapYear.com, GoAbroad.com and ResponsibleTravel.com.
Visit www.i-to-i.com.
