Voluntourism takes off

Cam Secrist, a retired census bureau specialist, and her husband, Don, a former Boeing engineer, will be off to the South Pacific soon, not to lie on the beach and sip Mai Tais, but to work three 40-hour weeks among indigenous Polynesians in the Cook Islands.

The Seattle couple love to bicycle and hike, both of which they did this year in France and the Grand Canyon. But for the second time in two years, they'll also clear time for a "volunteer vacation'' arranged through Global Volunteers, a Minnesota-based organization that sets up service projects in 30 countries.
   
Cam Secrist has come to view the trips as a way to combine travel with the type of community outreach she enjoyed in her career.  

"We're retired and we've traveled a lot. People have always been wonderful to us. It's a way to kind of give back to the people we've met in our travels.''

Post 9/11, interest in "Voluntourism,'' the subject of this week's Travel Wise column for The Seattle Times, began to grow, not only among retirees with time and money to spare, but also among younger travelers, says Joyce Major,  author of "Smiling at the World,'' a book documenting her volunteer adventures in 11 countries. 

After a career spent selling real estate, Major, who teaches classes on global volunteering at North and South Seattle Community Colleges, spent a year working in wildlife sanctuaries in South Africa, teaching English in China and working on a restoration project in Italy.

First-timers might want to arrange stints through credible placement organizations that partner with charitable groups.

Costs can average $1,000 per week or more, so check websites to make sure the group qualifies for federal 501C-3 tax-exempt status. Consult Charity Navigator  for breakdowns on what percentage of fees go to program expenses vs. administrative costs. 

The Secrists are each paying $2,700 for three weeks in the Cook Islands. The fee is tax-deductable, includes food, lodging in a modest local motel and evacuation insurance, but not air fare.  

For those looking to spend less and are comfortable handling most logistics on their own, Major recommends "grass roots'' programs that can be arranged directly with charities for as little as $150 per week.

The website, www.languageselnahual.com, for instance, lists a project in Xela, Guatemala, where volunteers teach English, art or vegetable gardening. A homestay is included in the $140 per week price.  

 Major advises consulting websites such as www.volunteersouthamerica.net which provides links to free or low-cost volunteering opportunities.

Several Seattle-area non-profits sponsor international projects. Among them are Crooked Trails, with upcoming projects to help families build smokeless ovens in Peru; Village Volunteers, with agricultural, medical, environmental and women's programs in   Kenya, Ghana, India and Nepal; and Seattle Community Colleges which sends  volunteers on health-related missions to Tanzania, Ghana, Peru, Vietnam and India. 
Closer to home, the WashingtonTrails Association sponsors week-long work parties ($195) combining trail maintenance with cooking and camping. 

Writing for the Seattle Globalist's website, veteran volunteer Anna Goren as this advice:

"The first step to any effective volunteer experience is honestly asking yourself why you want to go. For professional experience in international development? To learn a particular hard skill? To work on a social justice issue close to your heart? For adventure?

"Clearly defining your goals for your time abroad will help strike the balance between meeting your personal needs while remaining accountable to the community you are serving. It will also help you find a program that addresses your goals."

Above all, says Joyce Major, "Keep a sense of humor...You must be able to laugh. Ok, the roof blew off...They'll get to it when they can.''

Bella Napoli

Chiaia

GO FOR: Strolling safely through a gentrified quarter of one of Southern Italy's most exuberant cities. Vespa riders in slim suits rev their engines quietly, yielding to well-dressed women  carrying shopping bags from Prada and Gucci.

 A short walk from the traffic-clogged historical center, the  seafront neighborhood of Chiaia boost shady plazas and narrow streets more suited to walking than driving. 

Stroll along a new car-free portion of the lungomare, Naples' seaside promenade, for views of the Mount Vesuvius volcano and the Island of Capri. Explore the 16th-century Villa Comunale park. Then  pick among the bars tucked into a warren of back alleys, and raise a glass to discovering a neighborhood the city's elite have considered their secret for centuries. 

Bespoke tie maker Giorgio Ricciardi

Find out more about where to eat, stay, shop in Naples' Chiaia neighborhood, see my story in the September-October issue of Virtuoso Life Magazine. 

Delta to add Seattle non-stops to Hong Kong, Seoul; reduce service to other destinations

Joe Brancatelli, editor JoeSentMe, a weekly newsletter for business travelers, puts a slightly different spin on Delta Air Line's upbeat announcement earlier this week that will be adding non-stop flights between Seattle to Hong Kong and Seoul, South Korea starting next June. 

"What it didn't say," Brancatelli reports, is that "some of the existing Asia runs are being dropped or slashed. Gone will be flights to Osaka. Reduced will be flights to Shanghai (down to five weekly from daily) and Tokyo/Haneda, which will slide to four weekly from its current daily frequency. 

The Seoul flight launches June 2 using Boeing 767-300s. The Hong Kong flight begins June 16 using Airbus A330-200s. Tickets will be available for purchase Aug. 24, 2013.

Seattle is becoming a mini-hub for Delta and one of the airline's fastest-growing international gateways. Last month the airline announced new nonstop service to London-Heathrow Airport beginning in March 2014. 

The Seoul flight will depart Seattle at noon and arrive at 3:30 p.m. the following day. It will leave Seoul at 5:20 p.m. and arrive in Seattle at 12:05 p.m. the same day. 

The Hong Kong flight will leave Seattle at 1:30 p.m., arriving in Hong Kong at 6:45 p.m. the following day. It will depart Hong KOng at 10 a.m., arriving in Seattle at 7:55 a.m. the same day. 

Airports step in to provide security line wait time info

Wouldn’t it be nice to know which airport security checkpoints have the longest and shortest waits?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) provided that information?

Not happening, save for its smartphone app that depends on passengers randomly “crowdsourcing’’ this information.

So airports are taking the lead. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and Dulles International at Washington, D.C., have automated systems in place to provide up-to-the-minute wait time information on their websites for all checkpoints.

After the TSA canceled plans for installing a system at Sea-Tac Airport, Port of Seattle commissioners are considering moving ahead with a $3.6 million project to install wait-time sensors and 24 electronic displays in the airport’s main terminal, as well as provide wait times on its website.

The only hitch: Installing the system will involve ... you guessed it ... a wait.

Estimates call for construction to begin in September 2014 next year and be completed two months later, by November 2014.

More summer news for fliers in this week's Travel Wise column for the Seattle Times:

New at the “N” gates

Now’s the time to speak up if there’s something new you’d like to see at Sea-Tac’s North Satellite (N gates), scheduled for renovation for Alaska Airlines.

“Expanding concessions will all be part of the upcoming design,’’ says airport spokesman Perry Cooper. Most of the current shops and restaurants will likely stay, but “there will be some new opportunities,” Cooper says, “some kiosks and potentially new store locations.’’

Let’s hope so. It seems we could do better than burger and bagel chains and a smallish Starbucks with consistently long lines.

Have some ideas? Send an e-mail to seatacshops@portseattle.org.

London calling

London-bound travelers, especially members of Alaska Airlines’ mileage plan, will be the winners as Delta Air Lines moves ahead with plans to begin nonstop service between London’s Heathrow and Seattle next March 29.

The new Seattle-Heathrow service will end British Airways’ monopoly on the nonstop route. In a countermove, British will boost its flights from seven to 10 per week, starting Oct. 27.

If you sense a bit of déjà vu here, you’re not mistaken.

The former Northwest Airlines, now part of Delta, introduced its Seattle-London service in June of 2008, then ended it six months later.

The route performed poorly, Delta noted in its U.S. Department of Transportation filing, partly because British countered by adding more flights, and also because Northwest had a weak sales presence in London.

“Today, Delta operates a significant array of international flights from Seattle, including flights to Paris and Amsterdam,’’ Delta said in its filing.

“By joining forces with Virgin Atlantic and capitalizing on its marketing strength in London and the U.K., Delta and Virgin Atlantic believe this new service would be viable.’’ (Delta still awaits an OK from the Department of Transportation for a deal calling for it to buy a 49 percent stake in U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic Airways. But with approval from the U.S. Justice Department and the European Commission already in the bag, it’s begun selling tickets for the Seattle-London service next March.)

Alaska Airlines is a mileage partner with both British and Delta, so frequent fliers can choose to redeem or earn miles on either.

Hotels filling up

Seattle hotel prices are rising along with demand.

The demand for hotel rooms in the Seattle area rose 2.5 percent in the first six months of 2013 compared with last year, according to Smith Travel Research. Meanwhile, the supply of available rooms was basically unchanged.

No surprise then that average daily rates rose 4 percent to $121 for the six months, and 6.6 percent to $134 in June, when average occupancy was 86 percent.