Guests worked with locals, Entrena and the Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral on social impact activities
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Fathom, Carnival Corporation & plc’s social impact travel brand, returned from its inaugural week-long voyage to the Dominican Republic on 24 April.
Launched in June 2015, Fathom provides guests with the opportunity to participate in impact activities in the Dominican Republic, including those focused on economic development, education and the environment.
“Feedback from our guests during the voyage was extremely positive,” said Tara Russell, president of Fathom and global impact lead for Carnival Corporation. “This first voyage provided more evidence there is a growing market of guests who want to make a positive, direct impact when travelling. Fathom gave our guests a unique way to leave an impression on a very personal level within the community, as well as have an extraordinarily rewarding experience.”
In the first week, guests have worked alongside locals and Fathom’s partners Entrena and the Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral and helped nearly 650 students and community members to learn English, planted more than 2,400 trees, produced 50 water filters and nearly 600 sheets of rececyled paper, cleaned more than 200 pounds of cacao nibs and wrapped more than 6,000 chocolate bars for the Cacao and Women’s Chocolate Cooperative, and poured concrete floors for two homes directly positively affecting 20 people.
“We have already accomplished a lot in a short period of time – but there is still much to do,” said Russell. “While we celebrated and introduced the unique Fathom experience to our guests last week, we are looking forward to taking our guests every other week to the Dominican to continue making a profound and lasting impact for people in the country.”
Guests were also able to participate in recreational, leisure and sightseeing activities in the Dominican Republic. Adonia docked at Carnival Corporation’s newest port Amber Cove, located in the Puerto Plata region, where guests were able to enjoy kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkelling tours, ATV-like terracross buggy expeditions, Puerto Plata tours, helicopter rides, fishing trips, horseback riding, deep sea fishing tours and catamaran sailings.