Today, I am delighted to welcome Christopher Hill, founder of luxury philanthropic travel brands Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations. Christopher was working in finance in London when in 2002, he took a trip to South Africa which changed his life. He founded Hands Up Holidays in 2006 and in 2018 launched Impact Destinations, in response to demand from clients seeking transformational experiences, using their philanthropic donations to make an impact. Christopher serves his majority US-based clients from New Zealand where he lives with his family.

Christopher provides his definition of impact travel and describes the concept and purpose of luxury philanthropic vacations and experiences. He explains why families are engaging in philanthropic travel, what they are looking to activate, and why they are responding with such enthusiasm to the opportunity to enjoy worldwide destinations while also doing good and making a positive impact.

For families interested in impact tourism, Christopher outlines the different options and projects to choose from and explains how they decide which projects to pursue and how best to align these choices with their family objectives.

Christopher elaborates on whether families tend to engage in impact travel as a one-off adventure or it becomes an ongoing approach to how they vacation together. He also talks about how families cultivate a lasting engagement with and interest in philanthropic tourism among their family members, especially different generations with different preferences and styles of travel.

Enjoy this informative dialogue with a leading innovator and practitioner in the philanthropic travel industry.