“SEX and Games for the Aged”, “Send A Granny Away” — the holiday company Saga, which offers holidays for over-50s, has collected a few cheesy nicknames along the way. But we may have to revise our prejudices. This week Saga caught the new trend for “voluntourism”, launching trips for volunteers to help on overseas projects. If you thought these holidays were for strapping young builders who want to help rebuild tsunami-shattered towns, think again.

The first projects are in South Africa and involve teaching, training counsellors to deal with the HIV crisis, and mentoring students at Cape Town University.

“We need people who have something to give back,” said Chris Simmonds, who set up Saga’s scheme. “While these sorts of trips are great experience for youngsters, if they have not got the skills to pass on, are they really contributing? We are not looking for manual labour.”

Saga’s partner in this venture is People and Places, a web-based organisation (www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk) launched this week that will send volunteers to South Africa and Swaziland, with projects in Pakistan, India, Morocco and The Gambia to follow.

The company’s co-founder, Sallie Grayson, had heard horror stories about volunteers’ trips that weren’t properly planned — such as the IT specialist sent to a village in Nigeria that lacked even electricity. She has put checks in place to ensure that volunteers enjoy the placement, and that their work is useful.

“I think there has been a growing demand in the past three to four years for travel experiences that are worthwhile and meaningful,” she said. “The tsunami may have been the turning point.”

There have certainly been volunteering success stories after the tsunami — my former colleague, for example, this week described in The Times how he was able to help the Sri Lankan village of Kirinda — but many well-meaning tourists have found it difficult to get in direct touch with communities that need help.

So Saga and People and Places are usefully filling a gap. Since launching its scheme last weekend, Saga has received 100 inquiries from potential volunteers.

RESPONSIBLE tourism is not about eating lentils on a wet Welsh campsite, but is a set of principles that should underpin every holiday we take — from a package break to Cyprus to a luxury Caribbean trip. We have devoted this issue to holidays that make a difference.

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