A start-up travel business aims to contribute to lift 50,000 people out of poverty and provide 100,000 “life changing” travel experiences to people living below the poverty line.
The ambition has been declared by Yoly Romero (pictured) , founder and president of Manchester-based Maana Travel.
Using the tagline ‘Fighting Poverty Through Travel’, the business is described as a for-profit social enterprise – and said it will pay travel agents commission for selling its trips and experiences.
The company has forged partnerships with more than 50 organisations to provide 64 experiences and tours around the world.
It has also started a pilot invest for impact scheme in Morocco.
An initiative has been created where more than half of the profit the company makes will help people on low incomes travel.
“The beneficiaries of this initiative will be mainly schools in developing countries, orphanages, associations, etc, however, anyone that can prove that they can not afford to travel can apply on our website for the opportunity,” Romero said.
“Maana Travel’s work aims to contribute to lift 50,000 people out of poverty and offer 100,000 life changing travel experiences to people below the poverty line by 2025.”
The aim is to use the travel and tourism industry as an “instrument of good” by providing travellers with trips, tours, missions, workshops and activities hosted by people living below the poverty line around the globe.
“Plus, with every experience travellers buy from us, we gift a similar experience in their name to another person who could otherwise not afford it, making the benefits of travel available to all,” she said.
“In addition to providing the best insights of places, history, culture, food, connections, local accommodation, comfort and safety, to fight poverty, Maana Travel has partnered with do-good organisations and implemented a revolutionary programme that attacks poverty in its roots and addresses and lends support to global development issues in the countries where we operate.”
The firm has introduced an invest for impact scheme to work with low-income communities to create socially conscious
experiences.
“Every person chosen to be a part of the programme is provided with a loan and training, giving them not just a source of income, but something to be proud of,” Romero added.