Platform makes it easy for travelers to give Maya youth a brighter future
Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Q. Roo — Travelers can now help provide scholarships and affordable English education to disadvantaged students living in poverty in the local Maya community with Na’atik Language and Culture Institute when they book Kind Hotels on Kind Traveler.
Kind Traveler is the world’s first socially conscious “Give + Get” hotel booking platform that lets travelers benefit communities, the environment and animals. Exclusive hotel rates are offered with seleced hotels upon a US$10 nightly donation to a local charity that positively impacts the visiting destination, or to a favorite charity of choice.
100 percent of donations raised through Kind Traveler are given to charities like Na’atik, who believe that all children and young adults in the local community — where 70 percent of the local population lives below the poverty line — should have the opportunity to access well-paid jobs and enter competitive universities.
With nearly 75 percent of travelers looking for ways to positively impact the destinations they visit, according to Tourism Cares and Phocuswright’s Good Travels research study, Na’atik is pleased to be chosen by Chablé Maroma and Chablé Resort and Spa, Yucatan who will encourage travelers to impact the local community by supporting Na’atik’s mission.
When travelers book hotels with Kind Traveler, a $10 nightly donation to Na’atik Language and Culture Institute provides a student with two weeks of English language classes and unlocks exclusive hotel offers and other perks.
The municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto is an underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged region. Na’atik’s English language program provides local students the skills necessary to overcome demographic and socioeconomic barriers to higher education and employment in the professions.
Through its registered charitable organization, Na’atik Language and Culture Institute offers scholarships, affordable English education, including an active library, to students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto and its surrounding Maya communities.
Na’atik’s Founder and Director Catherine Gray said: “English opens the doors to opportunity. A strong level of English is a requirement for getting into good universities and having professional careers. Without this skill, even if students are well-prepared in all their other subjects, they are prevented from getting the education and the careers they deserve.”
Considering the financial power of the $7 trillion travel industry, Na’atik Language and Culture Institute and Kind Traveler have tremendous potential for positive global impact. Last year alone, people around the world took more than 1.2 billion trips. With price as a leading reason for booking with a particular travel company, by offering an exclusive rate on the hotel stay, Kind Traveler has created a solution that addresses both the consumer’s price motivation, as well as their desire to make a difference.
“Our win-win platform offers solutions for everyone,” said CEO & Co-Founder Jessica Blotter. “For travelers, they become warriors for good and support hotels that are making a positive impact in the world — while receiving exclusive hotel rates. For hotels, they cultivate new relationships with cause-minded consumers and take another step towards corporate social responsibility. For charities, they receive 100 percent of donations and a new, sustainable channel for fundraising.”
Learn more about how you can #TravelKindly with Na’atik Language and Culture Institute and Kind Traveler here.
About Kind Traveler
Kind Traveler, a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), is the world’s first socially conscious “Give + Get” hotel booking and educational platform that empowers travelers to benefit the wellbeing of communities, the environment, and animals. Exclusive rates are offered from curated ‘Kind Hotels’ upon a $10 nightly donation to a local charity that positively impacts the visiting destination, or to a favorite charity of choice. 100 percent of the donations raised on the Kind Traveler platform go directly to charities.
About Na’atik Language and Culture Institute
Na’atik Language and Culture Institute is a social enterprise language school that, through its non-profit Na’atik Projects, raises money to fund the institute’s English language program. This language program provides low-cost English education to the local Maya community in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
In addition to its English language program, Na’atik offers immersive Spanish and Mayan language courses to international students through its Study Abroad Yucatan (SAY) program. Ten percent of the proceeds from SAY fund the English program.
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