Since 1998, Busabout has brought travellers to Cinque Terre who tell us it’s one their favourite stops. They love its world-class hiking trails through historic terraced vineyards, its delicious focaccerias and its famous local wine. So when we heard about the recent disastrous floods, we knew we had to act.
On October 25, 2011 The region experienced a freak act of nature 1/3 of the average annual rainfall fell in a mere six hours and Vernazza bore the brunt of the damage. Over one hundred mudslides were funnelled down its one main street. Homes were irreparably damaged, three people were killed and over €100million in damages was recorded.
Vernazza thrives off local tourism, so we wanted to find a way we could give back to the community. We’ve teamed up with Save Vernazza, a non-profit organisation created by three local woman who are former backpackers themselves. Our travellers will have the opportunity to donate money to help rebuild the area’s beautiful trails. You can donate from anywhere on Busabout’s coach network and Busabout with match any passenger donations throughout the season.
You can help in another way By donating €25, you can take a guided trip into the heart of Vernazza, surveying the damage yourself. You’ll be led on a guided hike to Save Vernazza’s volunteer site, where you’ll receive a locally-sourced lunch and spend two hours getting your hands dirty, rebuilding the trails, painting new buildings and even harvesting grapes from the local vineyard. Not only will you be helping the region get back on its feet, your €25 donation will also be matched by Busabout. That money will help with the crucial infrastructure projects that will not only return Vernazza to normal, but will ensure a disaster of this magnitude won’t happen again.
By working with Save Vernazza, we hope to support sustainable tourism and give back to a region that has given our passengers so much in the past.
Photo Credit: Enso Photography - Gregory Berg
