Dec. 23, 2025

“Hands Up, Hearts Open: The Evolution of Impactful Travel”

“Hands Up, Hearts Open: The Evolution of Impactful Travel”
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Season 1

When people talk about purpose-driven travel, few realize Christopher Hill helped pioneer the concept twenty years ago. From his early experiences in South Africa to founding Hands Up Holidays & later Impact Destinations, he’s reimagined luxury & social impact. His approach—combining breathtaking destinations with meaningful service—has transformed how families and travelers connect with the world. Christopher shares the story about how to redefine what it means to travel with purpose & heart.

Ask Good Questions is broadcast live Wednesdays at 6PM ET on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Ask Good Questions is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio

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or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should

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be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing

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W FOURCY Radio.

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Welcome to to Ask Good Questions Podcasts, broadcasting live every Wednesday,

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six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at

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w fourcy dot com. This week and every week, we

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will reach for a higher purpose in money and life,

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as well as a focus on health and wellnes. Now,

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let's join your hosts, Banita Bell Anderson, as together we

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start with Asking Good Questions.

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Hello, and welcome to the Ask Good Questions Podcast. I

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am Benita Bell Anderson, and we have a fantastic show today.

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Something that has become very near and dear to my heart,

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and that is traveling but doing something and having something

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useful that you're doing while you're traveling. So I have

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a guest that I'm so excited to introduce to you.

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His name is Christopher Hill, and I'd like to invite

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him to the podcast stage.

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Now expect I wonderful to be here.

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Welcome Christopher. Well, let me tell you just a little

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bit about him.

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Now.

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First of all, he is in New Zealand. Right, You're

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in New Zealand. Correct, Yes, I'm in Hawaii. So you know,

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the cool thing about technology is we can be anywhere

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we want to be in the world. So let me

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tell you about this man and his companies. When people

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talk about purpose driven travel and social impact experiences, most

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don't realize that Christopher Hill pioneered the concept of luxury

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volunteer travel nearly twenty years ago. Who knew He saw

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firsthand in South Africa how meaningful travel could transform both

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the traveler and the community, and he never looked back.

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Christopher launched Hands Up Holidays to give families a way

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to truly connect, combining breathtaking destinations with hands on service.

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So his approach evolved beyond just immersing clients in projects

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like wildlife rescue or installing accessible bathrooms. Through impact destinations,

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He's also opened doors for travelers to support conservation and

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education initiatives kind the scenes showing how philanthropy and luxury

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travel can intersect beautifully. So he's got a very interesting

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perspective bridging high end travel, sustainability, and social impact in

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a way that shifted how families and schools and even

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corporations engaged with the world. So, after nearly two decades

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building these brands, Christopher has a wealth of stories and

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insights about raising compassionate global citizens and creating business models

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that genuinely prioritize community needs. How amazing is this? So, Christopher,

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anything you want to add to that.

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Gosh, that's pretty comprehensive.

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I guess just to add that I'm a dad and

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husband to little boys aged twelve and fourteen.

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Who are you know, the apples of my eyes.

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And that's the most important part of the whole thing.

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And I think the whole connection with families is super

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important because I feel today's kids need to know more

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about the world and need to understand if they live

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in a Western culture, typically they have a whole lot

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more than a lot of other people around the world.

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Without question, Yeah, I think that the interaction that you

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can get from a volunteering experience is all the more

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profound for children when they can contrast their home setting

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versus the environment that they're in whilst traveling, seeing people,

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seeing other kids their own age who may not have

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as much as they do materially but can be very

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apparently are really content and happy.

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With few possessions and strong family connections.

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I've seen that too. So what inspired you to create

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Hands Up Holidays?

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Well, it was on a trip that I took to

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South Africa back in two thousand and two.

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Where.

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In addition to go on safari and exploring the wonders

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of Cape Town and the Garden Route, I also helped

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to build a house for a family in one of

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the townships just outside of Cape Town.

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And this experience it.

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Changed my life and it added two dimensions to trouble

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that I previously hadn't had. And that first dimension was

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that I actually got to engage with the local people

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and do a deep dive into the culture and hear

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their stories and swap some laughs and actually just hear

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about their lives. And then secondly, it felt great to

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actually make a difference in the lives of the family

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that we were helping alongside to build, and so I

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got thinking, well, I've learned some good business skills. I

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was working in investment banking at the time. Why don't

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I put those skills into something that I would find

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more meaningful and fulfilling and make it easy for others

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to have similar experiences to what I just had. That

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was really the genesis of what became Hands up Holidays.

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Well do you feel like the idea of luxury volunteer travel?

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I mean, usually those words haven't gone together. How does

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that challenge traditional notions of both luxury and volunteering. I mean,

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you know, I'm thinking if you were volunteering, you were

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on the ground really uncomfortable.

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Yeah, well, I think you're right, Manita. That's the common

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conception and is an accurate conception, simtainly in terms of

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the vast majority of volunteering providers provide modest accommodation, and

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there's absolutely a place for that. We've positioned ourselves at

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their luxury and to make volunteering accessible for those people

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who don't want to have to rough it and sickly.

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It also ties in.

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Well with our model of what I describe as philanthro volunteering,

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where the impact the benefit that our clients bring is

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the funds to enable a project to happen, to pay

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for the materials for a house, to employ local people

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to actually do most of the work. And then our

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clients come and spend a few days at the end

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of the project to do the finishing touches and get

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that great feeling of still of completion and handing it

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over to the recipients.

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And that's what the magic happens.

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Even in just a few days, they get that interaction

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that I described that happened to me in South Africa,

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the interaction and engagement in just a few days. But

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it's the fact of having those funds to enable that impact,

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enable that project to take place, and marrying that together

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with the luxury accommodation so that people feel comfortable and

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as I say, not want to have to rough it.

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Well, was there an AHA moment where you realize that?

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I mean, I think I always love I think stories

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is a great way to tell these about these things.

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So did you have an AHA moment when you realize

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meaningful travel could be transformative, you know, for both for

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both the travelers and the local communities. I'm wondering too,

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I'm thinking about the local people too.

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Yeah, well absolutely, And I think for me that Ahart

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moment was that that time in.

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South Africa where I saw that.

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Not only was what I was doing beneficial to that

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to that family, and they were getting a decent place

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to live, which provides so many sort of knock on

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or you know, flow on benefits. So it's not just

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having a roof of your head, but it's it's the

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fact that that roof doesn't.

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Leak and so you can.

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There's a bit of health outcomes, which means that you

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can and attend your work more often.

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So you can in more more money.

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It also means that your kids aren't sick as frequently

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and so they can attend school and get a better education.

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And so there's all these knock on benefits that that

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flow to to the wider community and not just the

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immediate recipients of that house.

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And then, as I say, there was great benefit.

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You know, the transformation in me was sufficient enough to

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want to start a whole new enterprise based on Oh.

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I just think that's amazing because if you think back

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twenty years ago, how do you think this concept has evolved?

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Well, one for you and industry, Yeah, I would say

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there's definitely the underlying concept is pretty similar, but some

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things where it's evolved would be around.

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At the time of launching, I had young professionals in

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mind as our main audience, twenty five to thirty five

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year old's, cash rich, time poor people who wanted to

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have a great vacation but also wanted to make a difference.

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But from the beginning we were getting bookings from families,

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and families weren't on my radar at all when I

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was setting it up. I didn't have kids on my

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own back then, and it just didn't occur to me

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that that actually want to be traveling this way. So

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I'd ask them, why are you traveling with us? And

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that'd say things like, our kids come from pretty privileged

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backgrounds and we really want them to appreciate how fortunate

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they are, or that'd say we're looking for a great

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family bonding experience and this really nails it for us,

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and that really resonated with me, and so over time,

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but not a long period of time, we did shift

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our focus to the family audience as being our primary audience,

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certainly not to exclude any others, But now most of

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our messaging is directed to the family market, So that's

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one way things have evolved. Another way, right from contrasting

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how we when we first launched, we had fixed itineraries

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and we had fixed dates, so you could book a

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trap on the twentieth of April or the versus July

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or whatever, and then you're join a group of other travelers.

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But part of having group trips was we had minimum

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numbers required, and it was a really frustrating thing to

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get say two of bookings, but not get to the minimum,

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which might have been four or six people, and you know,

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trying to shift them onto another trip or or you know,

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in you not even be able to run that particular

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trip was really frustrating. And so we did shift to

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a fully tailor made, customized model whereby even if it's

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just one person, we can arrange that trip for just them.

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So that's one of the why things have changed. And

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then I think a step in that to answer that

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evolution question would be second brand that we launched much

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more recently. Impact Destinations, is in one sense in evolution

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or a variant on the theme of philanthropic travel. And

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how Impact Destinations is different from Hands Up Holidays is

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that it's a traveler's philanthropic donation with impact destinations that

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will enable the experts to do what they do best,

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but at the same time will unlock a unique experience

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for the traveler.

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So, for example, building, are they still doing building stuff

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or not?

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No, No, they're not. This is really more where. Yeah,

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so that's a big difference. You're not still rolling up

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with sleeves and grabbing a paintbrush or a hammer.

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You're actually your.

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Funds are facilitating the experts to do.

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Their work. So, for example, say on a.

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Safari day in South Africa, you can fund and then

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get to witness a rhino relocation from a reserve that's

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facing a lot of poaching.

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You wouldn't really have any idea how to relocate a

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rhino exactly.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, but you get to witness it.

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So this is we actually get in the helicopter, get

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in the helicopter with the veterinarian while he's while he's

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darting the rhino, and then spend some time on the

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ground with a sedated rhino before seeing it get air

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lifted off to a better protected reserve in Botswana.

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Oh wow, wow, how cool is that? Well, I'm i

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am batin that you have seen a lot of changes

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just in the travel industry in the last twenty years two.

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Right, Yeah, yeah, we have.

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I think there's there's certainly an increasing awareness around sustainability

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and and so that primarily manifests itself in the in

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the rise in accommodation providers, you know, hotels and resorts

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that that do take sustainability seriously, but also in terms

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of transport options, there's a rise in electric vehicle usage.

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It's also.

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In terms of dining options, there's an increasing number of

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restaurants that use organic ingredients and source those ingredients locally.

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And then.

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Uh, there's also been well, I mean one big change

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that you know, obviously affected everyone, but the travel industry

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more than more than more than probably any other industry

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was COVID.

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That a huge impact on travel for sure.

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Yeah.

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And it's aftermath as well.

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Yeah, oh yeah, it was. Yeah, what a terribly upsetting

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thing for everyone throughout the world. Yeah, I know that,

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you know, being here in Hawaii, being on a service

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mission in Hawaii with my husband, we have heard many

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times now about the different people, you know, because all

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of a sudden travel stopped and all the people that

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depend on those travel dollars were you know, seriously impacted. Well,

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I want to shift a little bit and talk a

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little bit more about purpose and impact. How do you

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feel that travelers can ensure that their experience is truly

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going to benefit a local community instead of just making

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them feel good about something.

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M Well, I think that speaks again to our model

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in both the brands is enhance the holidays. There is

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this Philanthroy volunteering.

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Model where your funds are used to enable a project

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to take place, such as such as building a house,

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so you can see for yourself that when you when

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you get there that the houses is nearly finished and

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is you know, you know, a few days left to

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be done, and so it's clear, you know, with your

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own eyes you can see where your where your money

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is going on on those particular projects. And then on

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the impact destination side as well, you know we spoke

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about the Rhino relocation.

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You know.

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Another example is on the on the humanitarian side, you

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can fund a on a trip in Australia, you could

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fund a scholarship for a promising Aboriginal art student and

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and then in return for that you can have an

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exclusive session with an established Aboriginal artist for whom you

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can commission your own unique work of art. So you

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get to see, you get to meet the student that

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the scholarship's for, and and then you're kept in continued

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communication throughout that that student's scholarship life. So again everything

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is everything, it's transparent. You get to witness, but by

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virtue of going there, you see where your where your

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money is going right, and the impact that you're making.

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Well, do you feel like there's any misconceptions about volunteering

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while traveling?

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Yeah, yeah, well yeah, I'm sure that there definitely are.

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I think one misconception is that luxury and volunteering don't make.

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I would hope that even in.

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Our discussion already, we've made it pretty clear that the

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level of accommodation doesn't determine the impact that you make.

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But by having a high level of accommodation, then you

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make it easy for people who have the means and

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want to make the impact through their through their funds.

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Then the if you do offer that that high level,

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then you make it amenable to people with those funds

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to to want to still volunteer and help but still

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keep their creature comforts.

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So that's one misconception I would say, another would be

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that you can't make a difference in just a few days.

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And again I would say that speaks to what I

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would how I would frame.

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That is by saying, there are, to my mind sort

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of three ways that you can make it make an impact.

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One is with your time, and that's to spend a

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significant amount of time and a destination and and devote

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yourself that way. And that's fantastic, and I think that's

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what you're doing now we are, yeah, which which is

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clearly a great place for that. And then a second

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way is to use particular skills you might have, and

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that can be you know, the obvious thing would be

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a doctor or a nurse or a physical therapist going

305
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and going somewhere where those particular skills are needed but

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not really available.

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Then the third way is.

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Through your funds and and so that's what that's where

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we've primarily come and we do also use specialist skills,

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but primarily we focus on on that impact being done

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through financial.

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Means.

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And so by framing it that way, you can actually

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make a difference in just a few days. And the

315
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however the difference may need to the community is done

316
00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:05.200
through the finances and so struely speaking, you don't need

317
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to be there. But one, like we've just spoken about,

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you do get to witness your impact. But two, by

319
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spending a few days, that's where the magic happens for you,

320
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and that's where you benefit from it. You get that engagement,

321
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you get those insights into another culture and break down

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those barriers, and the neutral enrichment of an exchange of

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humanity really and and seeing the appreciating the humanity in

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a different culture.

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So that's how even in just a few days, there

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can be mutual benefit.

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And then I would say another misconception would be around

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that volunteering can really just be taking jobs away from

329
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from a local community. Again, I would come back to

330
00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:08.200
our model of philanthro volunteering actually flips it on its head,

331
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and through those finances, we're employing local people to do,

332
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as I say, most of the work and supervise our

333
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clients and to do the tricky parts. So quite to

334
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the contrary, if its structured right, you can be generating

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employment in the local community rather than.

336
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Taking Can you think of a story of something in

337
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you know, the past where a project like building a

338
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home or wildlife rescue created lasting change for that visitor's visit,

339
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that traveler's visit.

340
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Yeah, well, I think the the lasting change in the

341
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community is pretty clear because you you get you know,

342
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a well built house will it will last a long time.

343
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But to flesh that out in a slightly different context.

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One one project that I that we that I love,

345
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that we offer in a few different destinations is building

346
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eco friendly stoves in in people's homes and especially in

347
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traditional huts. And the beauty of these stoves is that

348
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one that they replace the open flames in a traditional hut,

349
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and particularly with young kids running around, then there's risks

350
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of them getting burnt. And so by having an enclosed stove,

351
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you eliminate those those burns, and by having a chimney

352
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to expel the smoketory, respiratory problems such as asthma are

353
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dramatically reduced.

354
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And then from an.

355
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Environmental perspective, there will win as well, because it's much

356
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more energy efficient to have an enclosed stove than open flames.

357
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And so you can measure these impacts. You can measure

358
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the incidences of asthma or you know, the reduction in

359
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.519
asthma in a community. You can measure that you know,

360
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the incidents of burns, and then you can also see

361
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that families with these stoves are able to, you know,

362
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instead of putting more and more of their money into

363
00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:34.480
buying fuel, they can save and so you can measure

364
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the impact that way, and then looking at the impact

365
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on our clients, the participants in all these things, you know,

366
00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:47.079
just to share a couple of stories there, One that

367
00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:50.599
springs to mind would be a family that troubled with

368
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us to Morocco and they got involved with helping to

369
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build a library at a school in a remote area,

370
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massively remote, about forty five minutes outside of Marrakesh. And

371
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they had three children of varying ages and they, as

372
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I say, helped with building this school and the trip

373
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went well, but you know, it was otherwise unremarkable. I

374
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didn't dwell on that particular trip until I heard from

375
00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:29.200
them a few months later when they said Christmas time

376
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has come around and our kids said that they didn't

377
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want Christmas gifts this year. They wanted to send their

378
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gifts to the children that they were interacting with in

379
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the school.

380
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And that really touched me.

381
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As a way of speaking to the impact that was

382
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made in that particular family and Then another quick story

383
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I'd share was with a woman that she was traveling

384
00:26:57.559 --> 00:27:02.599
on her own. She recently retired and hadn't traveled much

385
00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:06.079
before and certainly not to to Africa, and she decided

386
00:27:06.119 --> 00:27:07.400
to travel to Kenya.

387
00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:13.079
With us, and she went on her own, right, Yeah, yeah,

388
00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:15.519
she did traveling as a single.

389
00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:22.559
Exactly, yes, and and so yeah, it was a little

390
00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:24.279
bit of a nervous traveler, and so we gave her

391
00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:28.599
sort of extra attention, extra handholding leading up to the

392
00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:31.880
trip and during the trip, and it went really well.

393
00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:33.480
But again.

394
00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:37.279
It was sort of had the impact that we expected

395
00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:40.759
on the on the you know, the community, and on her.

396
00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:43.039
Until basically.

397
00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.920
Her from her more or less on the on the

398
00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:51.240
flight home, she said, actually, I've I've I've booked the

399
00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:55.759
next flight back to back to Kenya, and I'm going

400
00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:58.680
to spend three months here, and I've booked my own

401
00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:03.440
apartment and I've hired my own rental vehicle. And so

402
00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.000
she to see the transformation in her from someone who was,

403
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.079
as I say, really quite nervous to someone who, once

404
00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:12.160
she'd travel with us and got in a feel for

405
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:17.079
the place, felt comfortable to arrange everything on our own thereafter, and.

406
00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:23.480
Spent three months there was just fantastic to see.

407
00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:27.400
How do you think that, So going back to families,

408
00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:31.480
how do you think volunteering together as a family transforms

409
00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:32.599
the travel experience?

410
00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:39.559
Yeah, well it again, I'd probably best to speak from

411
00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:42.279
my own experience and now have two children on my own,

412
00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:45.559
two boys now, he's twelve and fourteen, and we've been

413
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:48.799
really fortunate to do a bunch of trips with them

414
00:28:49.680 --> 00:29:01.599
in Mexico, in French, Polynesia, in Bali, and in all

415
00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:07.279
of them. You know, I certainly feel like we've come

416
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:09.680
away from those experiences.

417
00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:11.880
More cohesive and.

418
00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:16.599
Transformed from them, you know, just to share one of

419
00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:22.680
those in Bali, we spent a few days helping to

420
00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:29.960
install a disabled accessible bathroom for a paraplegic gentleman who

421
00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:37.559
in the Hindu culture of Bali, if you're born with

422
00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:41.119
a disability then it could be considered bad karma, and

423
00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:45.440
if it's something like paraplegia, you can be kind of

424
00:29:45.880 --> 00:29:50.440
hidden away and lead very sort of lonely isolated life.

425
00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:54.400
And so to be able to bring a measure of

426
00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:59.000
independence and dignity to something so personal such as going

427
00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:02.759
to the bathroom was really profound and to be able to,

428
00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:07.039
you know, get to do it as a whole family

429
00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:12.680
was extra impactful. Our kids were involved with drawing water

430
00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:15.559
from the village well and then carrying that water over

431
00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:18.559
to where the cement was being mixed, and then they

432
00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:22.720
would participate in mixing the cement by hand and then

433
00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:26.440
ladling it into the wheelbarrows, and then taking those wheelbarrows

434
00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:28.599
over to where the experts were doing the tricky parts

435
00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:31.960
in the bathroom, and then also getting to play some

436
00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:36.359
soccer with the with the local kids. So seeing them

437
00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:40.640
get that interaction and evolvement has been absolutely wonderful.

438
00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:44.640
Well, Christopher, I you know what's coming in mind is

439
00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:48.839
how in the world are you finding these opportunities.

440
00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:56.480
Hmmm, well there's no one way, But for me it's

441
00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:59.240
been a case of I think.

442
00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:05.519
Networking, really putting it out there. Like when that.

443
00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:07.400
Trip I took to South Africa was back in two

444
00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:11.960
thousand and two and then two thousand and three, I

445
00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:15.799
took out as a sort of sabbatical year really and

446
00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:19.359
I did some more study and then spent then spent

447
00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:23.240
the next two years traveling the world and building relationships

448
00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:25.079
with different communities.

449
00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:27.279
And how I heard about those communities.

450
00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:29.160
As I said, there was no real one way, but

451
00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:34.799
actually coming back to that relationship in Bali, just to

452
00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:37.160
give you a flavor for it, Yeah, I.

453
00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:41.240
Mean, like, how the world would whoever find that person?

454
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:45.680
Yeah, yeah, well exactly it is how in the world.

455
00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:49.279
But I just put it out there that this is

456
00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.440
what I was setting up and spoke to someone who said, oh,

457
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:58.759
you should talk to Estelle, who has just come back

458
00:31:58.839 --> 00:32:02.559
from volunteer in Bali. And she was working for Votaphone,

459
00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:06.480
you know, the mobile phone provider, and the Votaphone Foundation

460
00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:11.960
back then was funding opportunities for their staff to spend

461
00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:17.920
a year actually volunteering in a community. And so I

462
00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:20.039
got in touch with her. She was back in New

463
00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:24.119
Zealand at that point, and she was more than happy

464
00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:27.680
to share about her experiences. And her volunteering was focused

465
00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:33.200
on actually helping with a charity that their primary focus

466
00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:40.279
is in building prosthetic limbs for disabled people in Bali,

467
00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:44.480
but they also had a sort of a side operation

468
00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:48.079
of building these bathrooms, and so she told me about that,

469
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:51.960
and so my ears pricked up. And as she shared

470
00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.480
their details and went out there and evaluated it and thought, yeah,

471
00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.799
this is this is amazing. In the work that they

472
00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:04.079
are doing, and you know, I'd love to to to

473
00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:07.079
to help them and promote what they're doing. And so

474
00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:10.759
that's really just one example of many of really just

475
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:17.319
hearing about through all sorts of avenues, good work that's

476
00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:22.559
being done, and then going out and evaluating and then

477
00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:23.759
and then promoting.

478
00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:28.559
Well, do you think that this type of thing has

479
00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:32.759
influenced the travel industry overall? Do you think it's having

480
00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:36.680
an impact on the travel industry?

481
00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:40.599
Yeah, yeah, for sure. There's certainly.

482
00:33:41.640 --> 00:33:47.119
An increase in awareness of traveling sustainably and that certainly

483
00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:48.359
speaks to our own.

484
00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:53.839
Holistic approach to travel.

485
00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:56.640
And what I mean by that is that it's not

486
00:33:56.920 --> 00:34:00.920
just the volunteering component that we seek to make be

487
00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.319
a positive impact. It's also in the in the accommodation

488
00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:09.239
that we propose to our clients, in terms of seeking

489
00:34:09.239 --> 00:34:15.519
out those hotels and lodges that take sustainability eco luxury seriously,

490
00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:18.760
which can be in the design of the hotel, can

491
00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:21.679
be in the construction in terms of you know, perhaps

492
00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:26.480
using reclaimed recycled materials. It could be in how they

493
00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:29.400
generate their or how they source their electricity. You know,

494
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:33.280
do they generate their own electricity perhaps through solar wind

495
00:34:33.719 --> 00:34:40.199
or hydro electricity. Also looking at the proportion of staff

496
00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:45.159
that are employed locally and ideally, you know, looking for

497
00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:51.199
those properties that not also have within their management team

498
00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:52.360
local people.

499
00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:55.000
And then a big tech is where there's local ownership

500
00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:58.159
in the hotel.

501
00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:04.519
And then looking at restaurant options, seeking out those restaurants

502
00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:11.360
that use organic ingredients and source their ingredients locally. And

503
00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:16.199
then part of our own philosophy is to employ local

504
00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:20.360
guides as opposed to bringing in external guides. And this

505
00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:28.360
has has certainly seen an increase in availability of those things,

506
00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:36.440
so that there are hotels responding to a general demand

507
00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:41.960
worldwide within the travel industry war for sustainability. So it's

508
00:35:42.039 --> 00:35:46.840
it's great to be part of part of that increase

509
00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:52.880
in awareness and thus also you know, availability of sustainable

510
00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:53.840
travel options.

511
00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:57.199
Well, it sounds like you're I think, I think you're

512
00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:59.840
I think the whole idea is just having an impact

513
00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:05.960
on travel in itself, and you're right that the market

514
00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.039
is going to respond to things that are coming down

515
00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:12.920
the pike. Right this like with travel companies feeling more

516
00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:20.360
responsible for sustainability, ethical impact, using the local people, you know,

517
00:36:20.440 --> 00:36:23.400
because there's I've done a lot of traveling myself in

518
00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:27.519
my life, and there's been times when we could see,

519
00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:33.360
I'm thinking about Fiji and villages, and I have a

520
00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:36.920
lot of a lot of interest around the ocean and

521
00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:43.679
reef conservation. I think that do you feel like you're

522
00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:48.960
helping to train maybe people that are in third world

523
00:36:48.960 --> 00:36:55.159
countries to be more responsible? The reason where areing from

524
00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:58.039
with this is that we were helping a local village

525
00:36:58.039 --> 00:37:04.239
in Fiji to not throw stuff into the ocean, you

526
00:37:04.239 --> 00:37:06.440
know what I mean. We're like it was like there

527
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:09.800
was an impact in helping people, you know, realize that

528
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:12.719
they needed to take care of their environment. And I'm

529
00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:15.639
betting that you are doing that.

530
00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:20.920
Yeah, you know, we are, and soon we are partnering

531
00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:25.000
with organizations that are locally based that are doing that.

532
00:37:25.079 --> 00:37:25.280
You know.

533
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:30.360
A classic example of that would be in India working

534
00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:37.519
with an organization that has essentially well helped educate the

535
00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:43.800
local villages in an area of the sunderbarns where there's

536
00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.119
a lot of tigers. Need to get the community that

537
00:37:48.159 --> 00:37:51.400
the tigers are worth more alive than dead, and so

538
00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:56.880
turning tiger poaches into tiger conservationists and and so that's

539
00:37:56.920 --> 00:37:59.159
been really powerful but.

540
00:37:59.119 --> 00:37:59.760
Then also.

541
00:38:02.119 --> 00:38:06.719
You touched on coral conservation. Yeah, we were just in

542
00:38:07.079 --> 00:38:14.159
French Polynesia in Morea where we're working with coral gardeners

543
00:38:14.719 --> 00:38:19.760
and they have shifted their model to employing local people

544
00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:26.079
to build these artificial reefs, which then are helping to

545
00:38:26.280 --> 00:38:32.639
sustain fish life. And so their model is fantastic as well.

546
00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:37.960
And absolutely it's local involvement and buy in is critical

547
00:38:37.960 --> 00:38:38.159
for that.

548
00:38:40.199 --> 00:38:45.400
Wow, So how do you feel that? What would you

549
00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:51.559
say if I said, how can everyday travelers begin incorporating

550
00:38:51.840 --> 00:38:56.920
purpose and service into their vacations? Maybe starting on a

551
00:38:56.960 --> 00:39:00.840
smaller scale, but how could people start thinking along these

552
00:39:00.920 --> 00:39:06.719
lines asking better questions about how should I set up

553
00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:08.519
my next next vacation?

554
00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:12.639
Yeah, well I wouldn't you know, I'm biased, but I

555
00:39:12.719 --> 00:39:15.360
suggest getting on on our websites and taking a look,

556
00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:18.000
and then keeping in mind.

557
00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:22.280
After my mission, I want to be looking at your website.

558
00:39:22.920 --> 00:39:26.400
Yeah, yeah, amazing, Benita, look at the website.

559
00:39:27.320 --> 00:39:33.320
Yeah, and keeping in mind that every trip is customizable.

560
00:39:33.400 --> 00:39:37.960
So even if you have one data spare out of

561
00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:43.119
your vacation, we can tailor things so that that could

562
00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:47.400
be beneficial, either still in a hands on way with

563
00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:54.280
hands holidays or purely philanthropic way with impact destinations.

564
00:39:55.679 --> 00:40:01.360
That is awesome. So looking ahead, time is going quickly,

565
00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:08.199
and what do you envision for the future of impactful travel.

566
00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:13.960
M I think consistent with what we've been talking about

567
00:40:13.960 --> 00:40:19.960
about this rise in awareness around sustainability that certainly my

568
00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:27.440
hope is that the rise in ways or awareness that

569
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:33.639
you can also travel and make an impact, and especially

570
00:40:33.800 --> 00:40:38.119
actually at that luxury level, so that when you're considering

571
00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:42.840
a luxury vacation, perhaps in your mix of thinking of,

572
00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:45.039
you know, do I go on a safari, do I

573
00:40:45.079 --> 00:40:49.559
go on a cruise, do I go to Antarctica? Whatever

574
00:40:49.559 --> 00:40:53.639
the case may be, within that mix is oh, perhaps

575
00:40:55.119 --> 00:40:59.559
either as a standalone item or integrating that.

576
00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:03.679
With in those thought processes to think about.

577
00:41:03.480 --> 00:41:07.360
How I can give back as part of that luxury adventure.

578
00:41:10.679 --> 00:41:13.239
Could we end up with another story? Can you think

579
00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:17.119
of I mean, like Antarctica, maybe one of the most

580
00:41:17.119 --> 00:41:20.440
exotic I mean that I've looked at trips tractor They

581
00:41:20.480 --> 00:41:25.280
can be pretty expensive, but they're also amazing. Can you

582
00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:28.639
think of another story of something that had high impact

583
00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:32.559
for both the traveler as well as the local community

584
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:35.840
or maybe the local animals.

585
00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:47.199
Yeah, yeah, definitely, I would say, here's a couple. One

586
00:41:47.239 --> 00:41:50.920
in terms of local community impact that I've found really

587
00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:54.159
powerful and have been honored to be involved with is

588
00:41:54.679 --> 00:42:00.920
with a Massi community in Kenya, and it's it's a

589
00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:03.760
very forward thinking community.

590
00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:06.360
What I mean by that.

591
00:42:06.360 --> 00:42:14.880
Is certainly in the majority of Massi communities. Unfortunately, even today,

592
00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:21.320
female genital mutilation and forced early marriage are still practiced,

593
00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:25.320
and this community has been really outspoken against those practices

594
00:42:26.800 --> 00:42:30.400
to the point where we've been involved, our clients have

595
00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:37.400
been able to participate in building accommodation to hows young

596
00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:43.239
women fleeing other villages and coming to this village and

597
00:42:43.760 --> 00:42:46.559
to have a place to live and also receive an

598
00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:52.280
education and have much more autonomy over there their destiny

599
00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:56.519
and their future rather than being trapped into as I say,

600
00:42:56.800 --> 00:43:00.480
forced early marriage. And so it's as I said, it's

601
00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:06.719
been hugely impactful to have had a long term relationship

602
00:43:06.719 --> 00:43:10.679
with them, be involved with the building of these accommodations.

603
00:43:11.159 --> 00:43:14.360
And now even now we.

604
00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:17.000
Are this village is still a beacon for the young women.

605
00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:19.000
So they're still coming through and there's the opportunity for

606
00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:20.280
our guests to meet with.

607
00:43:20.239 --> 00:43:21.840
Them and here about.

608
00:43:23.199 --> 00:43:27.559
The way that their lives have been changed by having

609
00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:30.960
being able to come to this particular village.

610
00:43:31.760 --> 00:43:32.880
So that's.

611
00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:40.119
Yeah, massively impactful in a humanagering context. And then I

612
00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:49.280
would say from impact destinations, example, in a wildlife context,

613
00:43:50.400 --> 00:43:55.840
we've been able to facilitate the rescue of orangutan families

614
00:43:55.880 --> 00:43:59.440
that are facing habitat loss due to palm oil production

615
00:44:00.760 --> 00:44:04.239
palmel going into you know, there were lots of the

616
00:44:04.239 --> 00:44:05.280
foods that we.

617
00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:09.719
Use, but yeah, the the.

618
00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:13.239
Orangutans are the are the victims of these of the

619
00:44:13.239 --> 00:44:16.079
palmel production. So we've been able to, as I say,

620
00:44:16.320 --> 00:44:20.079
facilitate the through our clients' funds, that the rescue of

621
00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:26.360
families Rangeton families and their release into protected reserves. And

622
00:44:26.400 --> 00:44:28.199
then in return for that, I guess, been able to

623
00:44:28.239 --> 00:44:36.039
go into exclusive tracts of rainforests and and then trail

624
00:44:36.559 --> 00:44:40.719
iran tan families in the wild and and so go

625
00:44:40.760 --> 00:44:43.000
with expert guides to encounter them there.

626
00:44:43.400 --> 00:44:46.960
So yeah, that's been obviously.

627
00:44:46.599 --> 00:44:50.719
IMPACTFULO on the on the rangutans, and the guest feedback

628
00:44:50.719 --> 00:44:51.719
has been phenomenal.

629
00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:56.880
Yeah, I don't think people are gonna be forgetting that

630
00:44:56.960 --> 00:45:01.639
those types of experiences anytime soon. Well, is there anything

631
00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:05.480
we have, our time is over. It's like it always

632
00:45:05.480 --> 00:45:08.280
goes so fast. Is there anything that you would like

633
00:45:08.400 --> 00:45:12.639
to any parting thoughts that you would like to share

634
00:45:13.440 --> 00:45:14.360
regarding this?

635
00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:22.960
Yeah, well it's really I'd say, be open to to

636
00:45:23.400 --> 00:45:27.440
incorporating an element giving back into your vacation and and

637
00:45:27.480 --> 00:45:30.400
if it's.

638
00:45:29.079 --> 00:45:31.400
Small then that's fine. Dip uties in the water.

639
00:45:31.719 --> 00:45:34.760
And and and see where it leads you.

640
00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:40.639
Yeah, awesome. Well, Christopher, thank you so much for joining

641
00:45:40.679 --> 00:45:44.239
me today. Uh, you know, I'm hoping that this has

642
00:45:44.840 --> 00:45:48.159
given a lot of listeners a lot to think about.

643
00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:52.679
And just as a reminder to everyone that on my

644
00:45:52.800 --> 00:45:57.800
website is a bonus downloads place where you'll be able

645
00:45:57.840 --> 00:46:02.119
to find Christopher hills in from where you can contact him,

646
00:46:02.199 --> 00:46:04.760
take a look at his website and all of those

647
00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:08.679
things to think about your next adventure. So with that,

648
00:46:09.199 --> 00:46:12.960
thank you so much for joining to Ask Good Questions podcast.

649
00:46:13.639 --> 00:46:16.639
And we'll say it do for today, Christopher, thank you

650
00:46:16.679 --> 00:46:17.360
for being here.

651
00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:20.480
It's been an honor and a privilege. Da thank you

652
00:46:20.519 --> 00:46:20.880
so much.

653
00:46:21.480 --> 00:46:22.320
Okay, thank you.

654
00:46:26.440 --> 00:46:30.000
Today's episode is over. But we did Ask Good Questions again,

655
00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:34.360
didn't We don't miss out as we broadcast live every Wednesday,

656
00:46:34.400 --> 00:46:38.440
six pm Eastern Time on W FOURCY Radio at w

657
00:46:38.599 --> 00:46:42.679
fourcy dot com. Joined Banina Bell Anderson next week for

658
00:46:42.760 --> 00:46:48.400
more conversations with experts on finances, retirement, behavioral finance issues,

659
00:46:48.480 --> 00:46:53.119
health and wellness, and more. Until then, remember to ask

660
00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:56.239
good questions.