Travel for Knowledge was produced in its entirety by the Advertising Department of the International Herald Tribune. At the World Curiosity about unfamiliar cultures has been a major motivation for traveling to foreign lands for everyone from Marco Polo to the young bloods setting off for the Continent on a 19th-century Grand Tour. Today's tourists are just as eager to learn about how people live in faraway places, and many programs enable them to actively experience a place rather than just passively observing it. When the spirit moves people to lend a hand to the less fortunate or to help save the environment, they may not know where to find the time or how to channel their altruistic inclinations. One solution is to combine a vacation with an organized volunteer activity that enables participants to discover new peoples and cultures while contributing to bettering the world.
Volunteers generally pay their own way and are housed in modest lodgings.