Accommodating travellers who want to make a positive impact upon struggling communities; Carnival have created a new cruise line dedicated to social impact tourism, Fathom. The new line will charter the 710-passenger Adonia to sail to Carnival’s Amber Cover port in the Dominican Republic, giving passengers the chance to engage in a range of on-board and on-shore activities to help the local communities.
The Carnival Corporation are hoping the new line will appeal to holidaymakers who wish to use their vacation time to help the less fortunate, with social impact and charitable tourism rapidly increasing in popularity. It is estimated that more than one millions US holidaymakers choose a positive social impact holiday every year. Furthermore, 40% of this demographic have never been on a cruise before – opening up a huge new opportunity.
Fathom will begin operations in April 2016, offering 7-night cruises to the Dominican Republic. The line hopes to deliver tens of thousands of people every year to the destination – producing tangible benefits for the area and the inhabitants.
The line, led by Tara Russell, has identified two impact partners in the region, Entrena and the Instituto Donimicano de Desarrollo Integral, with whom to work. A portion of the sales of every cabin sold aboard the cruise will go towards funding the two organisations.
The activities organised by the cruise line have been developed to offer genuine benefits for the community, and have been devised for a wide range of ages, skill levels and amount of physical activity. Activities include cultivating local plants and crops and producing artisan chocolates as well as working alongside teachers in local schools – helping the next generation improve their English language skills.
Alongside the social impact tasks, guests aboard the cruise can also enjoy a little relaxation and exploration during the trip. Guests are invited to enjoy all the recreational activities which are available to all passengers aboard ships from the Carnival brands.
Images sourced via Pixabay.
