Change Through Traveling: a travel club to support communities in Brazil

Learn about Change Through Traveling – a Brazil-based membership club that will allow travelers to support communities they plan to visit in the lead-up to their trip.

Alini Soares Barreto lives in Curitiba, Brazil and is Operational Coordinator at Change Through Traveling. She is passionate about creating memorable experiences for travelers.

Congratulations to the Change Through Traveling team for winning the First Prize in the category ‘IDEAS’ at the Social Entrepreneurship in Tourism Competition 2020.

How did idea for “Change Through Traveling” start?

We originally participated in the TravelScrum Hackathon — a competition designed to boost the tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our hackathon team was made up of six strong and diverse Brazilian women, with different backgrounds, each with over ten years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industries, especially incentive travel and events. As Brazilians, we care deeply about development, social justice, sustainable tourism, and inclusion.

We wanted to create a solution that could not only bring profitability but also benefit and develop the host communities, diversifying their sources of income, as well as giving Brazilians an option to save for travel.

In four days, we brainstormed and developed the business idea for “Change Through Traveling“, which was placed in the Top 10 of the hackathon. Afterwards, we continued developing the idea.

We learned about the Social Entrepreneurship in Tourism Competition from one of our mentors and Travel Massive member Beth Santos who encouraged us to enter.

So we decided to further develop our project and make it happen!

What is “Change Through Traveling”?

Change Through Traveling is an initiative that will develop travel programs in selected locations. Guests will choose a travel savings plan, where the monthly payment allows them to travel once a year. Part of the amount directly funds communities’ development.

Guests will be part of a Travel Club, where they can meet travel companions, learn about the destination, and engage with our communities throughout the year.

Watch the video to learn more about Change Through Traveling:

How are you creating the future of travel?

We are trying to fundamentally change the way Brazilians travel to support local communities.

Change Through Traveling is a great compromise of creating safe tour itineraries, that also consider health, hygiene, and sustainability.
We will empower people to experience the world, through travel savings plans, and give back to the communities that they are visiting.
This business model allows us to directly fund local development, while creating a real and meaningful connection between travelers and host communities.

How has COVID-19 impacted you?

Our business was created in the middle of the pandemic, so the entire project was built considering new sanitary rules, social distancing, and sustainability.

As Brazil and the rest of the world are still fighting COVID-19, many tourism businesses are still closed, so we are having difficulties to reach potential suppliers to build the itineraries in the selected locations.

While the world is trying to find an effective vaccine for the disease, our plans to make Change Through Traveling a reality are being postponed until the pandemic is under control.

What are your top 3 tips for other social entrepreneurs?

To develop projects that approach the social pillar of sustainability, consider these points:

Location research and analysis: cultural richness and tourist appeal;
Communities’ infrastructure development. Local communities should be encouraged to develop services which will improve their well-being (schools, health services, etc.); either by their own resources or via financing;
Develop programs, activities, and partnerships that are going to create a solid impression of the destination, not only boosting tourism but also diversifying a community’s source of income.

– Thanks, Alini, for sharing your story!

Follow Alini Barreto on Travel Massive to connect with her.