Volunteering while on vacation is becoming increasingly common.

Maybe you have some travelers who would like to spend a day volunteering on their next trip. How do you incorporate service opportunities into your group tours and help your travelers walk away with an even more meaningful memory than what they planned?

There are a variety of ways to plan a tour. You might use a vendor that offers pre-planned tours, work with a destination management company (DMC) or leverage a contact at the local tourism bureau. Perhaps you know the area well enough to plan it yourself. No matter which planning path you take, you can still give a day back to the community you’re visiting.

Offering a volunteer day for your travelers is a way to immerse them in the community and show them they can make a difference even while on vacation. Building in a volunteer day will strengthen your relationship with your travelers as they become connected with you, not by travel alone but by giving back. Meaningful trips build bonds among group members, and there’s no better way to do that than by participating in a service project.

Here are tips for building volunteer opportunities into your next group trip.

Volunteering with Vendors

Are you using a partner company for a tour? If this is the case, find a vendor that can add a day of volunteering. Several companies already offer excursions or ideas for giving back to the communities they are involved in. Many large organizations also make public the types of charities they donate to and how they serve local communities. It’s great to know that tourism dollars go toward maintaining and building strong relationships with the cities, towns and villages you visit, whether by land or sea. Ask your vendor representatives which give-back opportunities they offer and choose the one that best suits your group’s needs.

Leverage the Locals

Using a DMC or working with a local tourist board? These organizations should have great ideas on how to give back to the community you will be visiting. Maybe it’s reading to school children, volunteering at a homeless shelter or participating in a local event. Have you heard about groups that visit the local animal shelters and spend a couple of hours walking dogs? There are endless ways to put in some time giving back to where you will be visiting.

The local tourism experts should have plenty of contacts to help you set up these activities. Simply reach out to locals for ideas, then decide based on their input. If you are looking for something specific, make sure you tell them what you are thinking. They should be able to connect you with the right people.

Do it Directly

If you’re planning the tour yourself, think of what type of service activity your group would find meaningful. Would you like to go to something like a school or a shelter, maybe build a building or do local community trash pickup? Reach out directly to local organizations to schedule a time that works for you and your group. Planning it on your own might feel a little overwhelming, but once you reach out to organizations and have good conversations, you will feel much better about your decision to volunteer.

You may have some travelers who aren’t comfortable with face-to-face community service, and that’s OK. There are still many opportunities make a difference. I love when groups reach out to food banks and volunteer to pack food boxes for the next pantry event.

Go and Grow

What if one service experience isn’t enough? If you’re interested in arranging an entire trip focused on volunteering, check with some churches in your local area, especially if your members attend services there. Many churches offer mission trip opportunities to sister churches. Another opportunity is an organization such as Send Relief, a U.S.-based nonprofit that offers groups the opportunity to spend a week serving underprivileged communities in 16 locations. And there are dozens of international mission organizations that can facilitate service trips abroad as well.

Whether you want to volunteer for a few hours or several days, service while traveling is absolutely possible, and you, the tour planner, can make it happen for your travelers. No one knows your travelers like you do so spend some time brainstorming before reaching out to your vendor, DMC or other organizations. Make sure you know about how much time you would like to spend, whether you’re okay with getting really hands-on, and whether you want face-to-face interactions with the community.

Creating this experience for your travelers will set you apart from other tour opportunities and will help you build deeper, more meaningful relationships with your customers.