DOHA: Qatar Charity has launched an innovative travel website that aims to promote public participation in charitable works.
The site — Travelandaid.com — allows people to support charity causes simply by using it to book hotel rooms and travel tickets.
Travelandaid.com has signed partnership agreements with top airlines and hotels, whereby for every purchase made via the site, the airline and hotel companies will make a donation towards charitable work without adding any additional cost to the traveller, QC said yesterday.
The site is the first of its kind in the region and provides a creative and innovative way for people to donate to relief and development programmes and projects online, it added.
It was developed and is managed by QC and enables the public to support humanitarian projects across the world simply by booking hotels and airline tickets.
Proceeds from the site will be used to fund projects that contribute to the provision of clean water, health and social care, and education, and the economic empowerment of poor communities.
The website was launched at a special ceremony attended by QC CEO Yusuf bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and Executive Director of Support Affairs, Mohammed Abdullah Al Yazidi.
A special presentation, titled ‘Travel and donate’, outlined the simple steps to make bookings through the website, which are as follows:
Access the site at travelandaid.com via your Internet browser or smartphone; find and compare between airlines and hotels; complete your purchase and the airline and hotel will donate a percentage of the price for the benefit of charitable projects.
A supported browser extension calculates all customers’ transactions automatically, making them fast, safe and easy.
QC works to support poor regions and communities that are exposed to disasters in more than sixty countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, through eighteen field offices and an extensive network of partners.
QC has signed the humanitarian code of conduct of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and has enjoyed consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations since 1997.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Al Kuwari called on companies and institutions that operate in the travel and tourism fields to coordinate with the site and sign agreements with them to contribute to encouraging the community to donate to charitable projects across the world.
He urged the public to use the site whenever they need to travel.
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