Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educational and developmental activities, such as traveling, working, volunteering, or taking courses. Gap years are not limited to a year-long break and can range from several months to a few years.
An au pair is a person working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for child care as well as some housework, and receive a monetary allowance or stipend for personal use. Au pair arrangements are often subject to government restrictions which specify an age range usually from mid teens to late twenties, and may explicitly limit the arrangement to females. The au pair program is considered a form of cultural exchange that gives the family and the au pairs a chance to experience and learn new cultures.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or World Wide Organization of Organic Farms, is a network of national organizations that facilitate homestays on organic farms. There is no central list or organization that encompasses all WWOOF hosts. As there is no single international WWOOF membership, all recognized WWOOF country organizations strive to maintain similar standards, and cooperate together to promote the aims of WWOOF.
Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel, which often includes staying in inexpensive lodgings and carrying all necessary possessions in a backpack. Once seen as a marginal form of travel undertaken only through necessity, it has become a mainstream form of tourism.
A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but does not necessarily require the student to study outside their home country.
Home exchange, also known as house swapping, is a form of lodging in which two parties agree to offer each other homestays for a set period of time. Since no monetary exchange takes place, it is a form of barter, collaborative consumption, and sharing. Home exchange can cover any type of residence including apartments, houses, holiday cottages, boats, or recreational vehicles. It can include an exchange of the entire home or just a room. The length of the swap can vary from a weekend to over a year. The swap can be simultaneous or non simultaneous. Home exchanges are usually arranged via specific types of social networking services, most of which charge a fee.
Founded in 1982, Rough Guides Ltd is a British publisher of print and digital guide book, phrasebooks and inspirational travel reference books, and a provider of personalised trips. Since November 2017, Rough Guides has been owned by APA Publications UK Ltd, the parent company of Insight Guides.
The Experiment in International Living, or The Experiment, is a worldwide program offering homestays, language, arts, community service, ecological adventure, culinary, and regional and cultural exploration programs of international cross-cultural education for high school students. It is administered by World Learning, a non-profit, international development and education organization based in Brattleboro, Vermont, in the United States.
The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies was established by Fr. Ron Anton, SJ as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1998. TBC's mission is to promote mutual understanding between China and other cultures, while facilitating international academic opportunities for students, educators, and business professionals. The Beijing Center's school of record was first through Loyola Marymount University, followed by Loyola University-Chicago, and currently through the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE).
A travel website is a website that provides travel reviews, trip fares, or a combination of both. Over 1.5 billion people book travel per year, 70% of which is done online.
Homestay is a form of hospitality and lodging whereby visitors share a residence with a local of the area (host) to which they are traveling. The length of stay can vary from one night to over a year and can be provided for free, in exchange for monetary compensation, in exchange for a stay at the guest's property either simultaneously or at another time, or in exchange for housekeeping or work on the host's property. Homestays are examples of collaborative consumption and the sharing economy. Homestays are used by travelers; students who study abroad or participate in student exchange programs; and au pairs, who provide child care assistance and light household duties. They can be arranged via certain social networking services, online marketplaces, or academic institutions. Social networking services where hosts offer homestays for free are called hospitality exchange services.
Nacel Open Door, Inc. (NOD) is a nonprofit student exchange organization dedicated to international understanding and language education.
A farm stay is any type of accommodation on a working farm. Some farm stays may be interactive. Some are family-focused and offer children opportunities to feed animals, collect eggs and learn how a farm functions. Others do not allow children. The term "farm stay" can also describe a work exchange agreement, where the guest works a set number of hours per week in exchange for free or affordable accommodation.
The Art Monastery is an American non-profit organization based in Hawi, Hawai'i and founded in San Francisco, California. The Art Monastery Project was founded by American artists Suiko Betsy McCall and Christopher Fülling in 2007 with the purpose of converting an historic Italian monastery into an international art production center in cooperation with the community that hosts it.
Masa Israel Journey was established in 2004 by the Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel. Dedicated to its mission, Masa offers young Jewish adults from the diaspora transformative experiences in Israel. Masa's commitment to fostering personal and professional growth, combined with cultural exchange, has proven them as pioneers in the realm of immersive Israel experiences, spanning from 4 week to 10 month programs for ages between 16-50.
Gapyear.com was started in the UK, in 1998, by Peter Pedrick and Tom Griffith. It was one of the world's first social media networks and focused on assisting young and old volunteers and backpackers to take a gap year. It was the first company to consolidate and promote the gap year industry internationally and online.
Responsible Travel, founded in 2000, is one of the world’s largest green travel companies offering over 6000 responsible holidays from over 430 holiday providers around the world. In 2023 the company celebrated its 200,000th customer. It is also a travel publisher and has published over 700 destination guides as of March 2024.
International volunteering is when volunteers contribute their time to work for organisations or causes outside their home countries. International volunteering has a long association with international development or environment, with the aim of bringing benefits to host communities. It can include a range of services, from healthcare advancement to economic development to governance.
HelpX, short for "Help Exchange", is a barter platform in which people offer or receive homestays, including lodging and food, in exchange for performing agreed-upon tasks for a few hours each day. Types of work include gardening, animal welfare, cooking, and farming, among others.
