Vacations that Create Change

This week on Planet Good Radio, our guest is Andrea Ross, founder of Journeys Within Bed & Breakfast and Tour Company/Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC). For the last 6 years, Journeys Within B&B and Tour Company has been offering tours throughout SE Asia and is a pioneer in philanthropic travel and voluntourism, in fact being named a Conde Naste Travel World Saver because of their focus on helping their community. JWOC is their non-profit arm that focuses on projects that help reduce poverty and increase educational and economic opportunities in the region. Philanthropic travel is key to their business model and to their growth and success. Some of the ways Journeys Within has aided the community are: * Building wells in villages to provide clean drinking water * Providing micro-finance loans to help local entrepreneurs build their businesses * Funding and providing equipment and supplies to local schools, orphanages and museums * Providing scholarships to students for high school and university * Disaster relief (for example, local fires and the Myanmar tsunami) * Providing a fair trade program to help local artisans sell their handicrafts at a good market price And one of the most involving ways Journeys Within helps their local communities is through Voluntourism. Tour guests are offered the option to make a donation of as little as $50 or $100 towards a program or project they’d like to donate to and a visit to that project is then incorporated into their tour. Nearly every guest opts to donate and incorporate voluntourism into their trip – a key part of the Journeys Within business model and company vision. Read more at www.planetgoodradio.com