This week, employees of Booking.com, one of the world's leading travel organization platforms, dedicated their time to the Vilnius tourism volunteer program. They exchanged one day of work in the office for volunteer assistance with tourists visiting the capital during the height of the tourist season.
14 people working at the Booking.com customer service center located in Vilnius this spring wanted to participate in the activities of the Vilnius tourism volunteer project coordinated by the Vilnius tourism and business development agency "Go Vilnius". Not only local employees joined the initiative, but also their colleagues from abroad. This project is the first "Booking Cares" social responsibility initiative in Lithuania. Booking Cares is a volunteering program through which Booking.com encourages its employees to volunteer their time and expertise to local organizations to help foster travel destinations around the world.
Booking.com's mission is to empower people to experience the world by helping travelers enjoy more than 140 unique destinations in every corner of the world. That's why, with our Booking Cares volunteering program, we constantly aim to make a meaningful contribution to the activities of local communities and nurture the travel destinations we love so that future generations can discover and experience them for many years to come. Working with the Vilnius tourism volunteer team not only helps our employees get to know the wonderful city where they work and live, but also contributes to creating an even more welcoming atmosphere for everyone visiting the Lithuanian capital," said the Booking.com customer service center. Manager Salvatore Simbula in Vilnius.
Booking.com's team of volunteers listened to the trainings organized by "Go Vilnius", during which they received practical knowledge about the places of interest in Vilnius, communication, and prepared to answer other questions that often arise for tourists. Divided into groups, the volunteers were on duty in the most popular places in Vilnius for tourists - Cathedral and City Hall Squares, Gediminas Avenue, Vokiečių, Maironios and Aušras vartė streets. Volunteers recommended places of interest to guests of the city, advised how to reach the necessary places and answered other questions.
"We appreciate the partnership with Booking.com, one of the world's largest players in the field of travel organization. We find points of contact with this organization in Vilnius in more than one area. In the spring, when "Booking.com" opened its office in Vilnius and created hundreds of new jobs, "Go Vilnius" organized a practical seminar for employees from abroad who had recently arrived in Vilnius, during which they introduced our city and advised on various issues related to relocation. After just a few months, Booking.com employees are already contributing to the efforts of the city community to foster Vilnius as a more open, attractive, hospitable tourist destination," said Inga Romanovskienė, director of Go Vilnius. According to her, in the future it is also intended to cooperate with private companies willing to contribute to the city's initiatives.